The Game's Slaves
by Ana the Romantic
Summary: An evil has come to the quiet town of Storybrooke. Detective Ruby Lucas, trying to make up for sins of her youth, teams up with the quiet Doctor Archibald Hopper to capture the most brutal killer in Storybrooke history. RedCricket, Rumbelle and some Graham/Emma as well
1. Prologue

**A/N**: So I have been working on this like non stop for the past couple of months. I got the idea in my head and it kind of took off. I was looking at the prompt (Detective and doctor team up for murder mystery) for my one shot collection, "Left Unsaid", but it soon took on multiple chapters and then a beast all its own. I am actually quite happy with it. Its my first **big** AU. I didn't think that I would have as much fun as I did on this thing. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it... except without the frustrations of writer's block. Enjoy and I hope you will honor me with a review. Happy reading!

**Summary**: An evil had come to the quiet town of Storybrooke. Detective Ruby Lucas, trying to make up for sins of her youth, teams up with the quiet Doctor Archibald Hopper to capture the most brutal killer in Storybrooke history.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ruby, Archie or any of the characters presented in Once Upon A Time or the idea of Storybrooke. I just like to play in the play box every once in a while and it seems like Ruby and Archie are just too fun to work with. So, please no sue.

**The Game's Slaves**

By Ana the Romantic

**Prologue**:

_The smoke that came from the car's engine made the air thick. The full moon high in the sky was the only light on the lone country back road where a crumpled car sat wrapped around a large tree. The moonlight barely shone through the smoke to uncover the scene of the crash. The sharp red sports car was reduced to a beautiful disaster wrapped around a large redwood. A single passenger sat in the driver's seat and motionlessly looked out the front windshield into oblivion._

_Boots hit and slid across the dark pavement toward the car, unsure of what they would find. She felt the tears choke in her throat as she tried to call out to him, but no sound cut through the cold, Maine air. With a stumble to the car, her hands wrapped around the car's door frame, bent out in an odd angle. She gasped and then sobbed at the sight of the young man, his chest torn open by some of the glass of the windshield._

_She shook her head as she stepped back from the car finally finding a squeak of a voice, "No…"_

"_It's your fault," the corpse suddenly spoke and turned his still lifeless eyes toward her, "You killed me… killed me."_

"_Oh God… I am so sorry, Peter," she whispered again and clenched her eyes shut, "I am so sorry…"_

* * *

Ruby Lucas shot up in bed and gasped at the ringtone of her cell phone off to the side on the nightstand. She took a second to gather her breath before she tumbled to the side and reached for her phone. Her dog picked up her head and whined at her and her sudden movements. The large wolfdog yawned and watched her owner's movements closely.

Ruby sighed and shook her head at her pet, "I'm okay, Perdi. Go back to sleep."

Perdita whined again and then put her head back down on the large bed that she had made of old blankets.

"Lucas," she murmured into the phone and ran a hand through her hair.

"Good morning to you too, partner," a cheerful voice filtered through the phone line.

"Mary, what time is it?" she wiped at her eyes and turned to her own clock which read two-forty. Ruby grumbled as Mary knew better than to answer, "I just fell asleep an hour ago. I have been up all night doing those reports, you know this."

"I know, I was hoping you were still up."

"What's going on?" Ruby pushed herself from the bed and popped her back with a stretch.

"We got a call for a lead."

"From who?" Ruby was immediately awake and threw on her jeans and her dark tank top over them. With a swift grab, she threw on her red leather jacket, "An informant?"

"You can call him that," Mary huffed into the phone, "It's Eigh."

"You talking about Steven 'Stealthy' Eigh?!" she nearly yelled into the phone, "Don't tell me he got the lead before us."

"Maybe. He was calling in a tip, talking near nonsense when the phone went dead. We think that he may have stumbled a bit too far into the investigation and may be another victim."

"Not if we can help it," Ruby frowned and locked her door behind her, "I am heading out. Where am I meeting you?"

"Let's get to him fast," Mary agreed and sounded like she was getting into her own car, "Warehouse on Shore and East End."

"I'll be there in five," she clipped out and hung up. She growled as she reached her red mustang. She pushed the engine to turn over and floored it out of the parking spot in the front, "If that stupid private eye got his ass in trouble… I've told him to get his nose out of it."

* * *

Doctor Archibald Hopper stood in front of the large bars with his assistant at his side. She smiled at his nervousness and handed him the top file that she had prepped for him.

"I don't know what you get so nervous about," she giggled lightly as they waited for the clearance to see the prisoner, "He has been nothing but a gentleman to the both of us."

"He was convicted of murdering his wife, Belle," Archie reminded her and patted at the tie that was securely under his sweater vest, "We are strangers compared to her. Just think what he could do."

"You said so yourself that it was a break with reality and that it was genuinely manslaughter when he killed his wife. He had just caught her with another man and he was under duress of rage," she reasoned back, "This is the last chance to see if he was hiding anything. If he has, he will stay in… if not…"

"Then he is a free man that has served his time," Archie nodded and looked up only when the bars opened and they both walked down the hall and into a small interrogation room, led by one of the many prison guards.

On the other side of the table sat a man with the air of a millionaire, "Good evening, Doctor Hopper."

"Mister Gold," Archie greeted with a nod and sat down the file on the table as he took his seat.

Gold suddenly flicked his eyes to the pretty brunette behind Archie and smirked, "Miss French, how are you doing this fine evening?"

"Just fine, Mister Gold," she replied with an easy smile.

"So we are to discuss the terms of your upcoming release…" Archie breathed out.

"Or continued incarceration," Gold added on.

"Mister Gold, you killed your wife, that's for certain," Archie nodded and took another deep breath, "But you did so after extreme anger and hurt clouded your actions. For that you have paid your price to society."

"And then some," Gold nodded and looked up, "I lost my son, you know this. Now, he is to be raised by people I don't even know… in New York of all places."

"Once you have established yourself once more, you will have a chance to see your son again."

"After he turns eighteen. My parental rights have been disintegrated since the trial end," Gold continued again and looked at the astonished psychiatrist. He smirked and leaned forward in an almost taunting way, "I have read some enlightening law books."

Archie's one eyebrow lifted and then he turned to look at his assistance, "Yes, it is amazing what you can find when you have the right resources."

Belle smiled at both men and bowed her head slightly, "Well, onward."

"Is there anything that you want to add to this?" Archie asked as he turned back to him.

"You know my feelings on the whole proceedings of this, Hopper," Gold sneered, "I have voiced them a few times over."

"All right, just…" Archie hesitated and looked the tall man in the eyes, "… don't give me any reason to keep you here or to put you back in when you're out."

"Oh, believe me," Gold sighed out, "I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Ruby pulled up the warehouse with Mary Blanchard at the front. She climbed out of her mustang and gave Mary a confused look, "Where are the black and whites?"

"We didn't want to bring too much attention to the building if _they_ are still here. They aren't too far away should we need back up. I have a small radio on me and they are on call," Mary said and un-holstered her weapon, "You ready to find ourselves a murderer?"

"Am I ever," she nodded and took out her own weapon from her waist holster, "Let's get this over with."

The two partners entered the warehouse and searched step by step, room by room of the rather large, but so far empty building. Ruby nodded up at Mary as she led the way and she covered behind her. Toward the middle of the largest room, they saw a single light nearly spotlighting a still form on the floor of the warehouse. Ruby hissed quietly at Mary as she took a step toward the downed man. Mary looked back and Ruby shook her head and pulled her back into the shadows.

"What does that look like to you?" Ruby nodded to the large light that was on right over the body.

"The only light in this entire room," Mary said in a rush, "Red, that man may need help. That may be Eigh. I can't just sit here and pounder over lights."

"Think, Snow!" she hissed and pulled at her friend and partner's arm, using her nickname, "That is a spotlight and if the murderer is in here, they have killed at least two people. With that record, I doubt that they have no regrets about killing a target from afar."

"As we still discuss this, he is dying!" Mary tore her arm from Ruby's grasp and started to run toward the man and kept low to the ground.

"Snow! Damn it!" Ruby frowned and kept her eyes and ears open for any movement or clicks that others would overlook. The room was tall and had plenty of ledges to hide in. Ruby followed behind Mary a bit slower and took a long sniff of the air. She stopped after a second and could nearly taste the gun powder in the air. Whoever this was, they were close. Really close. A click registered in the emptiness of the warehouse and Ruby's head snapped up to see a shadow move in one of the rafters not too far from Mary and the prone figure. Ruby aimed and shot right above the head of the intruder, "Above you!"

Mary gasped and covered the man under her own body to protect him. She looked up quickly and then tried to pull at the prone figure below her. She tugged at his arm, but he wouldn't move. A look back and she confirmed that it was indeed the private eye that was trying to follow the case just as carefully as they were. His eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling, his pupils dilated though he was looking directly into the light. She pushed him over to check his pulse and discovered she didn't have to. Though there was no blood, there was a large whole where his heart would have been, empty. Just like the other victims. With a shake of her head she cursed him. Steven "Stealthy" Eigh was dead. He got too close with not enough experience to save his poor backside.

"Snow!" Ruby roared at her and she looked up in time to feel the hit of a bullet to her center abdomen. She screamed out of shock more than anything else. She fell back and then began to scoot backwards and for more cover from the overhead position that the shooter had on her. She backed up against a far wall as she heard Ruby start to shoot back. The shots went back and forth for a few rounds before the shadow above them began to move.

"Red!" Mary yelled out into the building, her voice now echoing. She didn't hear or see her partner and that really scared her with how accurate that shot was at her.

"I'm fine," a voice called back to her, "Are you okay?"

"Vest stopped it," she replied and held at her middle. Vest might have stopped the most of the damage, but it still hurt like hell. She coughed a bit and tried to find out where the suspect was, "Where are they? Did you get them?"

"No, I didn't," Ruby answered a started to come closer to her. Mary shifted a little more to get comfortable and saw Ruby come around the corner, still vigilant on the overhangs over them, "What happened to Stealthy?"

"He's gone," she nodded sadly, "He must have got something good on them, whoever they are."

"Did they take it?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Yeah, his heart is gone too," Mary nodded.

"Damn it," she sat down next to Mary, her gun still drawn, "I told him to keep his head down."

"You knew even then that he wouldn't," Mary smile a little through her pain and looked at her friend.

"Yeah… I guess I did," Ruby smiled back at her.

Mary's smile suddenly dropped and she reached for Ruby. She pulled her forward as a gunshot echoed through Ruby's eardrums. She felt the ringing in her head, but still fell on her back, shooting the boxes behind her where the shot came from. The suspect fled and this time she saw a large shadow flee out the door and into the night.

"Shit!" Ruby shifted to get up, but then noticed the blood splatter on the boxes next to her. Ruby checked herself and didn't find any new holes, and then it dawned on her. She looked behind her where Mary was laying back on the ground with blood around her head, "No! Snow!"

She leaned over her friend and shifted off her jacket to press it against the bullet wound on her head. Mary's eyes drifted closed and opened in an effort to stay conscious.

"…Red?"

"It's okay, stay awake, Snow," she reminded her and reached into her friend's jacket for the radio, "We have a Nine-Eleven! Officer down, need of immediate medical assistance. Suspect has fled! I repeat, Nine- Eleven! Officer down!"

The radio blasted to life as confirmation was heard and more voices began to dispatch other officers and paramedics.

"They are on their way, Snow," Ruby looked down at her friend, "They're coming; I promise… just stay with me."

"R-red…" she stuttered and her eyes began to shut on their own.

"Mary Blanchard, you listen to me!" she growled down at her friend, "You will not leave me alone out here! You're strong, you can make it! Open your eyes!"

She leaned over her friend as she tried to wake her up, "Don't you dare leave me… not you too…"


	2. Chapter 1: New Partner

**Chapter One**: New Partner

Ruby Lucas sat at her desk in the station, reclined in her chair as her eyes drilled into a picture of her and Mary Blanchard from when they were in high school and life looked so much brighter. That was before everything began to go wrong. Ruby leaned forward and picked up the picture to run a finger over her friend's and partner's picture. They were close, so close that they were not only friends, but family.

They met when they were only preteens and immediately bonded. Ruby was a loner at school- a lone wolf as she would call herself. Her mother was slipping further and further into substance abuse and her grandmother tried, but didn't understand what Ruby was going through. Mary was upset over her mother's passing and the two young women found solace in one another through their absent mothers. They quickly became sisters in bond.

Mary and Ruby would talk of their sweethearts. Peter was a great match for Ruby as he usually climbed into her window at night just to see her while her Granny was out or preoccupied. David was the good boy and athlete that everyone strove to be. Mary couldn't have asked for more. Once, when they were on a relationship break, Katherine- a cheerleader- had bragged that David was now going out with her. Mary was devastated and it was up to Ruby to talk some sense into the dumb guy. He eventually saw the error of his ways and fought his way back to Mary.

When the accident happened, Ruby closed herself away. Even further so after the devastating attempt to get reassurance from her mother. No one could reach her, or contact her- except for Mary. She would climb through her window, knock out the door, whatever it took to get to her friend and bring her back to the real world. If it weren't for her sister, Ruby would probably have fallen deeper into depression and never reemerged.

Now, Mary was the one that needed the help and comfort that she always gave. Ruby could do nothing. She knew how to protect, viciously if need be, but she was never the calming presence. She was the wild child to Mary's motherly good girl.

"How is she doing?" a voice with a heavy accent asked from above her.

Ruby sighed and put the picture back down before she looked up at the older face of Marco Gettpeti, the experienced handyman of the medical examination division. She smiled sadly up at the man, "She's out of surgery as of an hour ago. They found the large bruise from the bullet that tried to rip through her vest and fixed it up. The other bullet broke through some of her skull, they don't know how badly it will affect her functions until she wakes up…"

"When do they think that will be?" he asked and fiddled with the files in his hands.

"They don't know if she will," Ruby took another deep breath so she wouldn't become emotional. She closed her eyes briefly and looked back up at the friendly man, "That bullet should have been mine."

"If it was, you would be laying on a slab in my medical office and not her on a hospital bed," he patted one of her hands, "Let's be happy for the small blessings that could be much worse. At least she is alive and so are our hopes in her recovery."

Ruby frowned slightly and shook her head, "Let's drop it, what do you have for me?"

"I have a connection," he smiled, temporarily forgetting the tragedy that had befallen them.

"To a suspect?" she asked and grabbed the file from his hands.

"Between victims," he chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm and didn't blame her for her eagerness.

"What is it?" she asked and flipped through the file as she turned to the boards with the victims and their pictures along with dates and times.

"Other than the empty hole in their chests, they all had lethal amounts of atropine in their systems," he said and pointed to Stealthy's picture, "Poor man had it injected into his system."

"What is atropine?" Ruby furrowed her brows, "I haven't heard of it before."

"It's used to help regulate heart rates and sometimes help with overproduction of bodily fluids," he explained and watched as she looked a little disgusted. He held out a hand, "No, no, I mean drooling and sweat problems, Belladonna."

Ruby nodded and still smiled at the nickname he had given her, "So maybe a hospital staff worker or a nurse. Angel of Mercy?"

"They were not sick," he shrugged and held out his hand to her.

"Henry senior was, maybe that's where they started," she guessed as she gave back the file and wrote the notes on the boards.

He looked at the four pictures on the board and shook his head, "I will continue work and see what else I can dig up."

"A question before you go," she mumbled and looked at him, "Did they suffer?"

"Their heart hate would sky rocket, respiratory function would be depressed and circulatory system would collapse," he explained the systems, "Coma and then death not too long after that. From what I could see all this happened fairly quickly with each victim seeing as it was injected directly into the bloodstream."

"So it was quick."

"Quicker than if they introduced it over time. Hopefully they died before they began to extract the heart," he nodded and looked at the doorway, "Oh no, brace yourself. This is not going to be good."

"What?" Ruby turned from the board and sees Deputy Sheriff David Nolan, high school sweetheart and current fiancé to Mary, stomp toward her.

He looked like he had just gone through four rounds with a troll; his eyes bloodshot and large bags underneath. He probably stayed with Mary at the hospital, hoping that she would wake up. Ruby didn't stay after he had arrived seeing that they would need time together, even if she wasn't going to wake up any time soon. His mouth was in a down turned frown and set strong with his jaw.

"I thought that you had her back!" David pushed at her when he reached her desk.

"Now, David-" Marco tried to intercede, but the man pushed him away as well.

"This has nothing to do with you, Marco," he said calmly to the man and turned back to Ruby, who was gripping at her desk so she didn't fall over.

She set her own jaw and knew that he was in for a fight. She would not disappoint, "I have always had her back. Unlike someone else I know."

"She had a bullet go through her head!"

"She acted before I could!" she exploded at him and pushed against his chest which made him take a few steps back from her, "I know you are hurt. I know how much she means to you, but she means a hell of a lot to me too. That's my sister!"

"Then why is she hurt?"

"Things happen, David!" she growled and barred her teeth, "If it was my choice, I would be the one in there, but I didn't have a choice. Don't you dare blame this one on me!"

"Oh, yeah because you are so innocent," he growled low in his chest.

"You don't get to judge me," she whispered.

"Okay, that is more than enough!" a fourth voice cut into the altercation. A large hand pushed against David's chest and grabbed Ruby's arm to pull her in the opposite direction. Sheriff Graham looked at both the deputy and the detective, "That is enough. I will not have this kind of thing in my station house. You are both hurt and hard headed. It's no one's fault except for the perp. Cool down and talk later if you need to. Until then, back off!"

David shoved off his hand, "Mary's in a coma."

"I know, we all know," Graham nodded and let Ruby pull her arm out of his grip. He turned to his deputy, "The love of your life is hurt, I get it. Go home and get some sleep. You need it if we are going to take this son of a bitch down. I need one of my best deputies on his best."

David turned and walked out of the room and then out of the station. He would either head home to get some sleep or head to the hospital to do the same at Mary's side.

Graham sighed and then turned to his top detective, "You have got rein in your temper."

"I would if someone didn't accuse me of almost getting my partner killed," she growled and shook her head, "I would never hurt her and he should know that better than anyone."

"He does, he's just hurting right now," Graham nodded and held out his hands as if to slow her down, "Just focus on getting the guy who did almost kill her."

"Believe me, I am on that," she turned back to the board where Marco was still standing.

"Anything new?" Graham asked and nodded his head at the older man.

"Just a chemical connection," he said and flicked his eyes to Ruby, "Detective Lucas knows about it. I am going to head back to the lab and see what else I can find out, if anything."

"Keep us updated," Graham nodded and patted the man on the back before he left the room. He turned back to Ruby who was again studying the board and all the victim's faces. Graham hummed in his throat and her eyes flicked toward him, "You get any sleep last night?"

"I slept here after I got away from the hospital early this morning."

"How long?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"Long enough," she answered back in a clipped tone as she tried to stare him down from the topic at hand.

"You know that I can't let you go on in the case-" he began as he looked away slightly.

"You cannot pull me off of this!" she almost yelled, "I am the best you have and you know that after the Spencer and Gold cases. After Mary, you know I will not let this bastard get away. No one will work harder than me to take this bastard down."

"You didn't let me finish," he said quietly and let her settle back into her own personal space. After he saw that she settled down, he continued, "I need you to take a new partner."

"A new partner?" Ruby asked with a calmer demeanor, "Mary is in a coma, not dead."

"That's why I want to make sure that you are taken care of so you're in one piece for when she comes back."

"I am not a rookie and I will not take one under my wing on a case like this," she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "Graham, you know I can do this."

"Yes, I know you can, that's why I put you and Blanchard on this," he said a bit exasperated, "But, I know that you will work yourself to death without a partner. You're too stubborn to stop when you should. I am not going to face Blanchard when she gets up and finds that you burnt out in her absence."

Ruby looked out the window in thought and then looked back at the sheriff, "I am not taking a rookie into a situation where they wouldn't be able to handle themselves."

"He's not a rookie," Graham shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder, "You know him, worked with him before."

"Worked with- I haven't worked with anyone on a case except Mary," she looked at Graham closely and didn't like the comfortable weight of his hand on her shoulder. That gesture usually proceeded news she didn't like at all.

"Come on in," Graham called to the doorway where another gentleman walked in.

The man was tall, but was only of average build. His slacks were dark and matched with a dark green button up with what looked like a dark sweater vest over it and a simple umbrella swung from one of his hands. The man had bright red hair and his shocking blue eyes were covered by simple circular glasses. He strode into the room with the presence of not an officer, but of a doctor. Doctor Archibald Hopper, the best forensic psychologist they had.

Ruby's eyes grew large and then turned back to her superior, "He is the reason Gold only got seven years! Why the maniac is getting out in a few days! He almost got Gold off on an insanity plea!"

"But he didn't, did he?" Graham patted her shoulder and then leaned in to whisper to her, "Play nice."

"Sheriff Graham," Archie nodded to the man and shook his hand again. He turned his eyes to Ruby who still had her arms crossed over her chest. She watched his movements closely as if he was the perpetrator and he knew that she didn't trust him. Seeing as the last time he saw her she called his findings ridiculous and a joke, he didn't trust much of her judgments either. He actually found her quite easy to jump to conclusions and a bit brash. With a deep breath, he tried to reserve his own judgments and to bury them. He only met her a few times during the Gold case and in truth didn't know much of her outside those meetings other than her impressive detective work on other cases and blatant disregard of protocol. Everyone deserves a clean slate. He held out his hand to her, "Detective Lucas."

She let out a breath and loosened her arms to give him a quick handshake, "Hey there, Doc."

"Archie please," he smiled in hope that she had buried the hatchet as well, "Another of my colleagues goes by Doc."

"Intriguing," she spouted sarcastically.

"I am sorry to hear about your partner. I hope she recovers sooner than later," he said genuinely and felt her arm stiffen in his grip. He let go of her hand and tried to preoccupy his eyes with something else. He was sure that she wouldn't appreciate him staring at her.

"Thanks…" she whispered and looked at Graham as if he _had_ settled her with a rookie.

"Doctor Hopper is going to help you find a way to track this guy. Some kind of profile," Graham explained and pointed at him, "It's what you do, right?"

"Among other things," Archie nodded and looked past them to look at the victims on the board.

As he hummed and poked at some of the pictures Ruby stood back and watched the man that was volunteered to be her partner. He had an amazing mind and knew what he was talking about in most aspects. She had read a few of his publications on the mind of criminals and also attended a couple of his speeches when she was still in the academy and he was not as well established. She hated to admit it, but they did need an inside on this killer's mind and no one was better at that than Doctor Hopper.

"When did we find out the chemical connection?" Archie asked from the board and pointed at Ruby's newest additions to the board.

"Just before you got here," Ruby said and looked at the board from the far side from Archie, "Why?"

"It wasn't in the file that I read before heading over here," he mentioned and narrowed his eyes at the picture of Stealthy, "This was the newest victim?"

"Yeah, he was a private investigator who got too close."

"Do we have any of his notes?" Archie looked at her and then to Graham when she did the same.

"We should be getting his affects in the next hour," Graham nodded and looked at his watch. He turned to walk out of the room, "The crime techs went over there after we discovered his body. I'll go check on their progress."

"We could see what he had," Archie nodded at the sheriff as he disappeared around the doorway and turned back to the board, still tapping on her new notes. She could tell that was going to bug her. He leaned back finally and looked at her, "Have you thought about a female perpetrator?"

"A woman?" Ruby asked and looked between him and the board, "Why would you think that?"

"The poison being the main weapon of choice," he gestured to the board, "It is more likely a weapon of females than males."

"That's usually true with angels of mercy and women who are killing off their husbands," Ruby nodded and watched Archie's eyebrows raise just a little in surprise of her knowledge of criminology. She smirked at his expression, "Don't be so surprised. I did go through the academy."

"I apologize; it's not often that the officers that I work with know much about the typologies, though they should."

"I think that everyone should," she nodded and jumped back to sit on her desk and look at the board, "Okay, new partner, what else should we keep in mind from what you see?"

"You aren't going to take full control of the investigation?" he asked.

"I have been going at this board for the last four hours," she huffed, "I can use a fresh set of eyes."

"Okay, well…" he started when he leaned back against the other desk. Mary Blanchard's desk.

"Can you not lean against that?" Ruby said quickly and tried really hard not to yell at him.

He leaned forward and looked back at the desk and then at her. He quickly made the connection, "Your partner's desk?"

"Yeah," Ruby hopped off hers and readjusted a picture frame that had moved when Archie leaned against it, "She has it in just a way, you know?"

"You really care about your partner," he said softly.

"She's like a sister to me," Ruby said and touched the desk once more before she returned to her own.

"How are you doing with her sudden coma?" he asked a little too informally and her eyes narrowed.

"I want to make something very clear, Doctor Hopper," she said and walked toward him as if he was prey. He took a small step back from the look of her and swallowed loudly. She put up a finger between the two of them, "As we have to work together, I am going to play nice. But I want you to know, that you have no right to get into my mind. No assuming and no profiling me. Got it?"

He nodded quickly and she stepped back. She looked down a little saddened and he took a small chance and hope that it didn't ruin his new work environment with her, "Can I ask you something now?"

"Shoot," she said and sat back on her desk.

"Not assuming that you would want to- or even need to, but should you want to talk…" he paused a moment when her eyes shifted to meet his and he swallowed again, "… you can talk to me without fear of judgment or damnation. I feel that if we are going to watch out for one another, we should have an open avenue of communication."

Her eyes locked with his and they both stayed silent for a few moments. For the first second she felt her temper rise and she was ready to let him have it. Then there was that small part of her that was part Mary and she held on to it. It calmed her and she knew that he was just trying to help in his own way.

"Unlikely, but I will keep it in mind," her eyes wouldn't let go of his yet and that somehow started to infuriate her. There was no one who dared to keep contact with her this long. Not even Mary or Graham. She gritted her teeth and spat out a, "What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head and turned back to the board.

As Ruby took a breath to say something a softer voice cut through the tension in the room.

"Doctor Hopper?"

"Belle," Archie smiled slightly, happy for the intrusion. He gestured to Ruby and then to Belle, "Detective Lucas, this is my assistant Belle. Belle, this is my new partner, Detective Lucas."

"Hello, Detective," Belle held on hand out to shake, while the other held files.

"It's Ruby," Ruby said quickly.

"Here are the files and information that you asked for," Belle handed over the files to Archie.

"Thank you, Belle," he said with relief in his voice. He turned to Ruby, "Is there a quiet place that I could review these and I will get back to you?"

"Downstairs in the offices by the labs. No one down there except for the lab techs and they don't use them all that much," she gestured toward the door. He nodded as he left and Ruby let out a breath of frustration, "Please take all the time you need."

Belle watched the woman and saw her closed body language. She smiled and waved a hand at her, "Did he come off a bit too strong?"

"Is he usually trying to be over helpful?" Ruby asked back.

"He doesn't quite know where to stop himself," Belle chuckled a little and looked around the office, "Are you in the mood for some coffee?"

"I think that I can use a little something," Ruby nodded and pulled at her jacket. She looked at the lonely assistant, "You want to join me? I know of a great place and maybe I can pick your brain about your boss."

"Sounds good to me," she nodded and walked out of the office with Ruby.


	3. Chapter 2: Intel

**Chapter Two**: Intel

Ruby and Belle had settled at one of the booths toward the end of the bar section. Ruby leaned back in her vinyl seat as she soaked in the white noise around her. A young woman came to take their orders and left just as quickly to fill them. Belle shifted in her seat a little to get comfortable as she could sense that this was going to be a bit of a bumpy ride with the detective.

"You can simmer down," Ruby said with her eyes still closed and head back. After Belle didn't move she moved her head back to a normal position and looked at her, "You're not the one I'm mad at."

"I know," Belle smiled sincerely and then gave her a sympathetic look, "But I think that you are more frustrated with him than mad."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ruby muttered and nodded her head to the waitress who dropped off their coffees before moving to the next table. She cupped her mug in her hands and let out a calming breath, "He only gave Gold seven years."

"The _judge_ gave him seven years. That's all he earned," Belle shrugged and sipped at the mug.

"You side with him?" Ruby lifted a brow a little in confusion, "The man killed his wife with a blunt object."

"It was because of his rage," she offered, "It wasn't premeditated; he wasn't thinking of killing her that night. When he saw that she was cheating, he snapped. Many of us would probably do the same."

"I didn't when I caught my boyfriend cheating," Ruby said and looked over her cup at Belle.

"You really think that I am going to believe that you just let the jerk walk away after cheating on you?" Belle gave her an amusing smile and disbelieving eyes.

"Okay, so I punched him in the face."

"That same impulse that made you knock him good in the face was the same impulse that drove Gold to kill his wife. Yours was just smaller and less intense. You probably have a better reaction to surprises or sudden extraneous factors."

"I don't think that I would ever _kill_ someone for cheating on me."

"How about the person who killed your partner?"

"That's different," Ruby pointed out with a frown, "Life for a life. This person is overdue for their come-uppance."

"See?" she paused and looked pointedly at her, "Every situation is different, remember that."

"Why do you defend a man that did something so gruesome?" Ruby leaned toward her coffee partner, "I saw that crime scene. I was there- it was my first case. I won't forget it."

"Rum Gold…" Belle started and struggled to find the right words that wouldn't upset the detective, "Is not what everyone thinks he is."

"Not a cold blooded monster? How so?" Ruby leaned back again and thought that the explanation was going to be good.

"He isn't a monster that killed his wife. Given, he did kill her, but did so out of pain that she had already caused. Others knew about his hard deals and cold hearted decisions when it came to his businesses, but that is the way of the world, unfortunately. It seemed only a few know of the man beneath both of those. He is kind and a gentleman to those who are willing to treat him with respect. His son has been taken from him and he has nothing else. He is coarse and sometimes unfathomable in his decisions, but he is above all else just a man trying to live."

Ruby paused and looked at the woman across from her, "You care about him, don't you?"

"I…" Belle's eyes widened and looked like a deer in the headlights at Ruby, "I… I don't know what to think. I guess I could care about him like that if… if he would let others in. Sometimes the darkness introduced into a soul is hard to break through without an outside light. His son was that light and he's gone. I don't know if he will ever reach a level standing again."

"Sounds like he needs a new light," Ruby said softly and took another sip of his coffee as Belle looked up from hers.

"Maybe…" she nodded slowly and shared a heavy look with Ruby.

"Well, if it isn't our top detective."

Ruby rolled her eyes and then schooled her features into a sarcastic smile for the woman to her side, "Good afternoon, Madam Mayor. What can I do for you today?"

"Why aren't you working on the case?" she put her hands on her hips.

"Despite what you may think or want, I am only human. I do need to refuel otherwise I burn out. I spent a good time of the early morning with my partner who was recently injured."

"Spoken like a true detective," Regina spat at her and frowned at the corner of her lips. She looked over at Belle and frowned deeper, "And who is this?"

"Belle French, an assistant of the sheriff's office," Ruby answered and Belle only nodded to the over bearing woman beside her.

"Here I thought that it was your new partner," Regina smiled prettily, "I do hope that Miss Blanchard gets well soon."

"We all do," Ruby all but growled at the woman.

"I want you to get this case underway," Regina snapped her head to Ruby and leaned over her on the table. Ruby stayed in her position and didn't back off one millimeter from the woman's attention. Regina noticed and leaned back, "I want it a high priority. They killed my father. I want justice for him."

"We are working on it, Madam Mayor," Ruby bit her cheek so not to lash out at the woman. After a moment she looked back at the woman who looked down at her with a gloating smirk. She tried to bite her tongue, but it was too easy to pass up, "You know, I find something a bit strange."

"What's that?" Regina asked and tilted her head in curiosity.

"It's just that, your husband died quite curiously after only a few years of marriage to you. Some say that he was poisoned," Ruby said and before Regina could reply she held up a hand, "I know, there is no trace of it in his system, but it did look a little weird- a strong and healthy man like that suddenly fall ill. I am just interested since now your father was the first victim of this killer and he was definitely poisoned. Two very important men in your life turn up dead."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Only that, rest assured, we are working _very_ hard on this case," she narrowed her eyes up at the mayor while Belle watched nervously from behind her cup.

Regina looked at her and Belle and scoffed as she stood up straight, "Yes, I can see that."

"Anything else I can help you with?" Ruby asked in a sweet tone to keep the malice from her voice.

"I sometimes doubt you can do anything for me," Regina picked at the spots on her skirt suit, "If it wasn't for the sheriff's unwavering trust in your abilities, I wouldn't have chosen you to even touch this case."

"Good day, Regina," Ruby said and turned her attention back to the coffee and Belle.

"Good day, Detective Lucas, Miss French," Regina Mills turned on her heels and walked out of the diner to her car and to City Hall.

"Wow," Belle breathed out after the encounter.

"That's Mayor Regina Mills," Ruby said as if from a script, "She is known for her ruling iron fist and winning garden."

"Garden?" Belle repeated a little unsure.

"Yup, got a couple of prized apple trees and a few lovely nightshade bushes that win her the honor every year."

"I didn't realize that she would be so brash," Belle said with a hand to her chest.

"You have no idea," an older woman said as she set down two plates of food on the table.

"Hey Granny," Ruby greeted with a warm smile.

Granny smiled back at her and held the side of her face. She looked at her in the eyes, "How are you doing?"

"I'm surviving," Ruby admitted, "Just barely."

"And Mary?"

"The same," she nodded and Granny backed away just slightly.

"Poor girl. I will be praying for her," Granny huffed and then turned to Belle in the seat across from her granddaughter, "Are you Ruby's new partner?"

"Oh no," Belle smiled and shook her head, "I am the assistant of the partner, though. My name is Belle."

"Well, hello dear," Granny smiled at her and then turned to see a rowdy group a few tables over, "Enjoy yourselves and I will see you for dinner tonight, Ruby?"

"I will be there around six if I can get away," Ruby nodded and her grandmother ran off to sort out the table.

"Your grandmother?" Belle asked.

"Yup," Ruby nodded with a fond smile, "She owns this place. Probably would have given it to me if I didn't go into law enforcement. Who knows, she may still."

"You can tell that she is proud of you."

"Surprising, but true."

"What about your parents?"

"Dad is who knows where and mom's dead," Ruby said almost nonchalantly and looked up to Belle who was about to apologize. Ruby held up a hand to stop her, "Don't. Granny's better than any parent. She taught me everything that I know and did a great job. Couldn't have done better, even with the many bumps in the road."

"No, I guess not," Belle smiled and began to pick at her salad.

"So… let's get on with it," Ruby smiled and suddenly the atmosphere got lighter, "What do I have to look forward to with this crazy new partner of mine?"

Belle giggled at the description, "You just have to understand a few things about Doctor Hopper. He doesn't want anyone to pay for what they haven't done."

"Like murder? Gold was guilty."

Belle huffed in a little annoyance. They had already been through this, hadn't they?

"Yes, he was, but not of first degree murder."

"He tried to hide it," Ruby poked her fork toward Belle and then stuck it in her medium well done stake.

"So would anyone else in that position."

Ruby thought about it and frowned. If she had been that mad and killed someone, would she want to hide it? Of course. Would she? She didn't really know.

"What else can you tell me about him?" Ruby asked and quickly added, "About the guy in the sweater vest, not the convicted criminal you have questionable feelings for."

"Ruby!"

"What?" Ruby asked with a smirk and shoved a piece of steak in her mouth.

Belle battled down her blush and huffed out a breath, "I think he tries to see the good in everyone, just like I do. The problem is that he sometimes can see the darkness better than he could see the good. That's when he tries to help and in doing so sometimes causes more hurt."

Ruby thought back to when he stood with him in the station and he just took his time looking at her as if trying to figure her out. Maybe he saw the darkness that was in her and was trying his best to smoother it out. If he was as good as everyone said he was, he already knew what was in her mind and she didn't want anyone knowing those thoughts. She barely registered them herself.

"I think that he doesn't really know when to stop himself in his insistence to help others. He tries so hard to make up for things that were beyond his control. It's his self imposed prison sentence, you could say."

"For what?" Ruby asked and saw Belle's head pop up as if in surprise, "What is he making up for?"

"Isn't really my place to say," she shook her head with a sad smile, "He just wants to be a good man. I think he is, so do many others… he isn't convinced though. And until that time, he is going to push himself. Sometimes a little too far."

Ruby frowned a little at that and took a thoughtful bite from her fork as she pondered over the strange psychologist.

"He likes you though," Belle smiled and giggled a little as she heard Ruby choke a little on the piece she was chewing on.

Ruby patted her chest to breathe again and she narrowed her eyes at Belle, "What?"

"He likes you," Belle nodded and giggled again, "Not like that, I mean. He admires you and your work. He is annoyed by your disregard of the rules and is intrigued by your history. He likes you… you're a challenge."

"Some would say a challenge that shouldn't be attempted," Ruby looked at her new friend pointedly, "Others have gotten hurt when they have tried."

"I can see that," Belle whispered and nodded with an added, "I have picked up on a few things from hanging around Doctor Hopper."

Ruby began to laugh at that, "Nah, I don't think so."

"Why?"

"Because I like you," Ruby pointed at her and both women began to laugh with one another at the table.

* * *

Archie sat at one of the circular tables down stairs as she poured over the files and findings in front of him. He had his own notepad to the side where he scribbled his own calculations and thoughts on the case. He also added the use of the poison on to his pad and scratched his head. A large breath later and he leaned back in his chair to close his eyes.

"Frustrations?"

Archie whipped his head around and saw an older gentleman standing at the door with two cups of what he assumed is coffee. After moment of processing the man's presence he finally connected the dots.

"Marco," he smiled and stood up to hug the man.

Marco put the two cups on the table top and chuckled good naturedly, "Hello, my friend. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"You didn't tell me that this was the case you were working on," Archie laughed a little as he hugged the older man tightly.

"You never mentioned it either," Marco waved his finger in Archie's face. He pushed a cup toward Archie, "It's tea. I know you don't care for coffee."

"Thank you," Archie sighed and took a long sip of the warm beverage.

"I take it that you are the new partner of Ruby, huh?" Marco asked and sat at the table with him.

"She is quite a… character," Archie said carefully.

"That she is. Quick, smart and a tongue that could slash through cement," Marco chuckled.

"I just hope that I can work well with her," Archie voiced his concern.

"I think that it is a brilliant match," Marco said with a smile.

Archie turned to him with a frown and Marco put up his hands in defense, "Listen to me. She is observant and you can give her the last pieces that she needs. You two think in very different ways. Fill in the blanks for one another."

"She has made great progression on her own merit," Archie nodded and looked at the files that she had compiled.

"And she's not that bad to look at either," Marco shoved his friend in the arm.

"Marco!" Archie admonished his friend, "Have some respect for her."

"I do, believe me," Marco nodded as he stared off into the distance and sipped at his own tea.

"Does she have to so foolhardy and rash?" Archie asked after a moment of silent.

"That's the way she stays safe," Marco said and tipped his cup at his friend, "She keeps everyone at a distance. That way if they leave, she stays in one piece. It takes a while, but there is a way to get under that armor."

"She has lost someone?"

"More than one," Marco nodded, "At such a young age, too. She deserves better."

Archie hummed and leaned back in his chair in thought, "Have you gotten under her armor?"

"Took me a year or so, but I have gotten at least under the first layer. Mary and Ginny are the only two that I have ever seen bury themselves deep," Marco shrugged.

"Who's Ginny?"

"Her grandmother," Marco smiled brightly, "Another beautiful lady."

Archie chuckled at his friend's face, "Okay, Casanova. Tell me what you have from the medical point of view so I have something to appease my new partner when she gets back."

"Sure, sure," Marco nodded and pulled the files toward him.


	4. Chapter 3: Puppy Talk

**Chapter Three**: Puppy Talk

Her feet pounded the concrete sidewalks of the park as the heavy leash pulled at her right arm. Ruby smiled down at Perdita who kept pace easily alongside her with long strides through the grass. The wolfdog knew better than to try to pick up any long scents while her mistress jogged. They would stop at a clearing not too far ahead anyway where she could sniff to her heart's content. Until then, she was happy to stay in pace with her pack mate and leader.

Ruby kept a good pace while her mind began to wonder through the developments of the last week. Mary was still sleeping, but at least she was stable. If they knew a way to jump start her brain, Ruby would be one of the first people to push the button to get her sister and partner back. On top of that she was still getting used to the eccentrics of her new partner, Doctor Archibald Hopper.

A slight, thoughtful frown marred her forehead and lips. She thought about the man who had an affinity for sweater vests, his trusty umbrella and rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. He had a habit of tapping on the board when he was about to make a connection or a very deep observation that she had overlooked. She had thought that it would annoy her, and for the first day it did, but she was now welcoming the indication of another breakthrough. His eyes are so focused and clear when he studied the board or other people. She had watched him from her desk as he met the other officers and deputies around the office. He studied each and every one of them without them even knowing it. She, on the other hand, saw that slight change in his eye color that was a tell that he was reading someone.

"Amazing what you notice about the little things with someone," she said to herself between a deep breath and a pant from her pace. She slowed down to a walk as Perdita slowed with her. Ruby checked her watch and then looked up at the path, "I'm sorry, girl. We are going to have to cut your sniffing time down today, but at least we got out."

Perdita cocked her head to the side with a small whine and looked her owner over. After a second she stepped forward and licked Ruby on the cheek.

"I'm fine," Ruby giggled at her dog's actions, "Let's get over to our clearing and then I gottta get home and take a shower. A long one."

Perdita huffed and then sniffed the air. Ruby watched as her dog whined again in a different tone and sniffed the air again.

"What's wrong, girl?" she asked.

Before she knew it Perdita pulled the leash from her hand and ran down the path, her nose still firmly in the air.

"Perdi!" she yelled after her and jumped into a run to catch up with her dog, "Perdi!"

She followed the animal through the park, over paths and benches until she rounded a corner and she heard what she had been dreading: a solid thump of her dog colliding with someone.

"Oh great," she mumbled and turned the corner, "God, please don't let it be Regina."

There on the ground was her dog, licking the face of a complete stranger, still holding on to the leash of a beautiful looking dalmatian. Her heart leapt to her throat thinking that the person was going to start screaming, but instead Ruby heard a low, pleasant laugh fill the air; interrupted only by her dog's slurps.

"Peridta!" she yelled at her again and grabbed the leash to pull the dog back. She settled her and tried to apologize, "I am so sorry; she is usually better behaved than this."

"No problem at all, Detective."

Ruby did a double take. There on the ground before her was Archie, leash still in hand and his dalmatian sitting nearby.

"Doctor Hopper!" she yelled in surprise and her eyes flew open wide.

"I told you to call me Archie," he said as he pushed himself off the ground with a smile, "And now that you owe me, I insist on it."

Ruby cringed just a little by the bruise he will probably get on his back side from her dog's leap into his arms, "Sorry again about that. She's never run from me before."

"She was just excited," Archie knelt down on one knee and held out a hand to Perdita who simply bumped her head against his hand and seemed to smile under his touch. Her tail wagged happily behind her as the psychiatrist rubbed at her ears, "There's a good girl."

"This is surprising," Ruby said with an amazed look, "She never lets anyone touch her except me, Mary and Granny… unless I tell her to let them."

"Dogs are great judges of character," he smiled and stood up to talk with Ruby, "What breed is she?"

"Wolfdog, I guess," Ruby shrugged as Archie looked at her in question, "Her mom's definitely a wolf. Her dad was probably a German Shepard, but I'm not sure."

Archie, not put off by the mention of wolf smiled warmly at the dog that had tackled him to the ground, "What was her name?"

"Perdita," she smiled at the name as Perdita walked over to the dalmatian and they began to sniff at one another. Ruby smiled at the other dog and he waged his tail as he let her scratch behind his ear and over his head, "And this gentleman's name?"

"Pongo," Archie nodded and the dalmatian looked at his owner as if he was being called. Archie only chuckled, "Good boy."

"I didn't peg you as a dog lover," Ruby said a little more comfortable with the situation.

"It's one of my closest guarded secrets," Archie chuckled and tried to make it a joke. A small, uncomfortable silence surrounded the two humans as the two dogs were unaware of their owners' uneasiness.

Ruby smiled slightly and watched as Perdita and Pongo began to play and romp around one another, "Look at that."

"Would you mind if…" Archie pointed to the two dogs.

"She doesn't get to play too often, why not?" she shrugged and began to walk, "There's a clearing up ahead that we can let them off the leash."

"Sounds good," he nodded and followed her.

They let both dogs off the leash and the two canines bounded around one another as if they had been lifelong friends. Both Ruby and Archie scouted out a lonely bench and sat down to watch their dogs play. They sat next to one another, but found that it was hard to find some kind of conversation.

Ruby was the first to break the silence, "Okay, if our dogs can get along without a hitch, I think we could do the same, right?"

Archie looked at her a bit startled but nodded. Though they have worked with one another for the past week, they hadn't gotten over that awkward feeling of the first day. Mostly side stepping one another at the station house and coming to their own conclusions hasn't gotten then anywhere.

"I will say it first," Ruby sighed and after a pause said, "I am sorry for being a bit of a… well, pardon my language, but bitch to you when you came in. I was upset about Mary and you being the doctor on the Gold case didn't help my mindset. I didn't give you a chance and that isn't fair. So, I'm sorry."

Archie let out a breath he was holding and smiled easily, "So am I."

"What?" Ruby asked, truly shocked, "Why?"

"I, much like you, came in with my own judgments and preconceived notions about who you were and are," he shrugged and looked away as if ashamed, "I know better than that and even though I told myself I wouldn't judge, I did. So, I am sorry too."

Ruby smiled and chuckled a little bit, "You are a strange one, you know that?"

"I… don't know how to take that after an apology," he said with a small frown.

"Don't take it bad," she shook her head and turned her body toward him, "It's just; there haven't been many guys that have apologized. You are the first."

"Then, I don't think you've been around too many gentlemen," Archie said simply and turned his attention back at the dogs, "I find that we men can be wrong about a lot of things. Even when we 'know' we're right. I will be the first to own up to my mistakes. Better that than to suffer long winded consequences."

"Your girlfriend has you trained well," Ruby smiled and thought of a little woman coming after Archie with a good tongue lashing.

"Don't have one," Archie shook his head, "I learned that all on my own through a lot of trial and error."

"Well," Ruby nodded to herself, "You're more observant than I thought."

"It's what I do," he nodded and after a moment extended his hand out to her, "How about we start off on a clean slate? All over from scratch. No Gold case, no reservations."

Ruby looked at his hand and nodded. She gripped his hand and shook hard, "Agreed."

"Well then, let me introduce myself," Archie smiled warmly and held her hand now in both of his, "I am Doctor Archibald Hopper, but I go by Archie."

"Hello Archie," Ruby giggled to herself, "I'm Detective Ruby Lucas. You can call me Ruby."

"Nice to meet you," he nodded and they let go of one another's hands, leaned back on the bench and watched their dogs in now comfortable silence.

After a half hour of dog play they called their dogs back from rolling in the grass and got them back on their leash. Ruby looked at her watch and sighed, it would be another short shower before work yet again. Archie already looked ready for work. A nice button up shirt, dark tie and an actual vest on- no sweater included- over his top half, while he matched it with a dark pair of slacks. His trusty umbrella was still at his side though it looked like it was going to be a nice day.

"You guys are so lucky," Ruby said as they began to walk out toward the front of the park.

"Why do you say that?" he chuckled and nearly tripped as Pongo maneuvered himself to get closer to his new playmate.

"Girls have so much prep time to look good," she patted herself on the chest and dodged her dog's quick paces to get next to Pongo, "I will have to take a quick shower to get somewhat put together and into work. You're already there."

"I will tell you a secret," he said as if they were conspirators, "We take a while to get ready too."

"I don't think we're on the same page _HERE_!" she yelled out the last word as two different leashes caught against her legs and pushed against her knees. She was flung forward as Archie seemed to be tripped back. He caught her easily around the waist as the leashes stopped tugging. She had both of her hands against his chest to balance herself as his hands settled comfortably on her hips. Their eyes met both wide and in shock of the predicament that they had fallen into. Both dogs sat next to one another and looked over their handiwork like it was a job well done.

The moment was cut short when a voice tore through the air.

"Get your hands off of her!"

Archie immediately stepped back, now very conscious of the leashes and made sure that she was able to stand on her own before he finally let his hands leave her waist, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm- I'm good, thanks," she nodded and looked over her shoulder where a single figure loomed toward them, "Oh great…"

"Who's that?" Archie asked as he caught the tone of her voice.

"Jealous trouble," Ruby frowned and Perdita untangled her own leash as she growled at the approaching man. She sat next to Ruby's leg and eyed the man carefully. Archie took note of her closed off body language toward the man and Ruby crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Billy, what are you doing here?"

"I know that you usually liked to walk the mutt around here in the morning," he pointed to Perdita who barred her teeth at the man. Archie could hear Pongo begin to growl in his throat, but shushed his dog quietly.

"Perdita and I usually take our walks in the morning, but never on the same schedule," she shook her head as she narrowed her eyes, "You were following me."

"Good thing too," he huffed and pointed at Archie, "We aren't even broken up and you are walking with another man?"

"One, Archie was in the park with his dog walking separately when we ran into one another. Thought that it would be a nice time for our dogs to get some socialization just like any friends would do," she pointed one finger at him and then pointed the second, "And two, I believe that I called our relationship off when I caught you making out with Charlotte and gave you that brilliant shiner you're still nursing. Who I walk with is none of your business."

"That was a misunderstanding, and you know that," Billy tried to pull out his charm and smiled at her. He reached out his arms toward her when both dogs barked and snapped toward him. He stepped back and looked at Archie as if the man had commanded his dog to do that.

"Sorry, Pongo has his own judge of character," he explained and patted his dog's side, "Must not like you."

"Billy," Ruby said annoyed and looked at the man, "It's always a mistake or misunderstanding with you. I am done."

Billy looked between the two of them and shook his head, "I don't get you, Rubes… I don't think I ever will."

"I don't think so either," Ruby shook her head and yelled at his back as he turned to leave, "I told you, don't call me Rubes!"

He threw his hands in the air as he stalked back to a tow truck parked nearby.

Ruby let out a long breath and turned to her new partner, "I am so sorry about that."

"I am guessing he is one of those fine gentlemen that never apologizes?" Archie offered a smile which she returned gratefully.

"He is the one that started the trend," she nodded and began to pull at Perdita's leash, "Come on girl, let's get home."

"I will see you in an hour at the station?" Archie asked before she got too far.

"Yeah, I will be there after I freshen up," she smiled and pointed to her ponytail and jogging outfit.

"I don't see why you think you need all that time," he shook his head, "I think you would look great in anything. I haven't been proven wrong yet."

She cocked her head much like her dog had done earlier in the morning as she looked at Archie. He seemed to catch up to what he had said and shyly waved at her before he and Pongo turned and walked down the road. Ruby's eyebrows furrowed in thought and she looked at Perdita before she started to walk again, "Was it just me… or did he compliment me?"

Perdita's tail began to wag and she licked at Ruby's hand.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Ruby smiled at her dog and pulled at her leash to start home, "But you're just saying that because you're smitten by that handsome dalmatian, huh?"

Perdita whined up at her and Ruby only laughed.

* * *

Ruby entered the station with a better and more upbeat mood than the days previous. Some of the officers moved out of her way as she walked down the hallway toward her and Mary's office. She smiled almost like a predator toward them and could see a few of them shiver in fear from her. She chuckled to herself and threw her hair over her shoulder as she walked into her office. Of course, her new partner was already there and staring at the board, his trusty umbrella hung from the back of the chair closest to him.

"So," Ruby said as she slid up on one of the desks, "What are we looking at today?"

"Good morning to you too, Ruby," he greeted with a smile, even though he was still looking at the board.

"I'm sorry," she rolled her eyes and leaned toward him from her place on her desk, "Good morning, Archie."

He turned to her with an amused expression and pointed to a few pieces of evidence around a couple of the bodies, "Did you notice these before?"

"Originally, we thought that they were pieces of rubbish left around the scene," Ruby nodded and looked at the pictures of various nick-knacks, "Do you think that they are all related?"

"I find it strange that they are all the same color pallet. A dark or deep purple," he tapped at the board and she smiled a bit with a soft chuckle. He turned to her with a brow raised, "What?"

"You tap when you are about to make a connection," she said and waved her hand in the air to mimic his motion, "Have you ever noticed?"

"No, I haven't," he chuckled and looked at his hand, "I will be careful not to do that in the future."

"No!" Ruby said quickly and caught him off guard, "No, don't stop. It's growing on me. It also tells me that we are on the right track."

"Okay," he nodded and turned back to the board to hide the surprise and possible blush on his face. He cleared his throat, "I think that we should send these pieces to the lab."

"Already have been," Ruby hopped down off her desk and walked to the box that had all the files on their findings. She pulled the papers out and hummed, "Why didn't we see this before?"

"What is that?"

"They all have trace elements on them very similar," she traced the readings with her fingertip, "Wait a minute… I know this make up."

"You know chemicals?" he asked as he saw her put down the files and dig in her desk. She brought out a thin magazine and began to flip through it.

"No, not chemicals per se," she flattened the magazine open and pushed it toward him.

"Perfume?" he asked and looked at the ad for a very expensive looking bottle of perfume.

"The best that money can buy," she nodded and pointed to the lab printouts, "It matches perfectly. Didn't you say we should look for powerful women? Well, this stuff sells way high. Only the most powerful can get it."

"This is why you are a detective," he nodded at her and she smiled proudly. He chuckled warmly and shook his head at her, "I think that we can work together quite well once we put our minds to it."

"I think this proves it," she nodded and picked up the phone on her desk. She dialed an extension and smiled when the other person picked up, "Hey Marco. Are any of your boys good at tracking down the sale of expensive items?"


	5. Chapter 4: Shoot Out

**Chapter Four**: Shoot Out

The next morning Ruby woke up early to take a nice long shower that she was denied the day before. She thought happily on the progress that was made in the case the day before and though Stealthy's work files didn't have anything good, maybe the perfume would turn up some things. Ruby was almost done with her hair right out of the shower when her work cell lit up with an urgent call. She rushed to the phone and put it to her ear, "Lucas."

"It's Graham."

"What's going on?" she quickly tied her hair up since she knew she wouldn't be doing anything else with it at this point. She also grabbed her red jacket and headed out the door.

"We just had a break in the case. We have a suspect from that connection you two made yesterday and it looks really good," Graham said from the other end. Ruby could tell that he was smiling and the excitement was contagious.

"Who are we looking at and where can I meet you for the take down?" she asked and hopped into her mustang, "Because you know I am not missing this."

"It's Mal Ficent."

"The prosecutor?" Ruby asked and put the phone on speaker while she drove, "Are- are we sure?"

"It's looking good," he repeated, "I am heading toward her home with one other officer. Nolan is going to meet us there with Hopper. I want to make sure this is the right person before we start to black list one of our heavy hitters in the D.A.'s office."

"Yeah, because a black and white and two unmarked vehicles in her driveway won't blacklist her as is," Ruby mumbled, "I will be there in five minutes."

"I will stay in touch."

The line ended and Ruby looked straight out the windshield. She never thought of Mal Ficent. She was one of the biggest cut throats in the office of prosecutors. She didn't take any prisoners, even against the big wigs like Albert "King George" Spencer. When he was taken down for a couple of murders, Mal couldn't wait to get her claws into him. As a big wig judge, he had stopped her proceedings on a dime by the slightest of loopholes. Not to mention he was playing for the wrong side anyway, with corruption and laundering going back for years. Ruby was only too happy to bring him in for murder and Mal was even happier to prosecute him.

"Then why murder and end up right beside him in the prison?" Ruby asked out loud and kept her foot on the gas. She sniffed the air through her nose and shook her head, "There is something wrong about this. Very, very wrong."

* * *

"What did you do?" Mal Ficent hissed into her phone and looked out the window toward the street. Her fingers pulled at her silk curtains just enough to peek out without them knowing she was looking. A police cruiser and at least one other unmarked car sat in front of her home.

"A little planting of evidence while backs are turned is easy enough, Mal," the voice on the other end said in a soothing voice despite the obvious distorter, "A few of your affects at the crime scenes and maybe some hair follicles in someone's grasp and you were in two places at once. Would you look at that? I made you magical."

"You know that I will find a way to catch you, even if I have to go behind bars," she promised and stepped away from the curtains, "I will not let you get the best of me- friend or not."

"You and I were friends once upon a time, weren't we?" the other voice laughed lightly, "Just like Albert and I."

"He is nothing like me, and you know that," Mal paced in her home and looked at the collection of items she had earned over the years of work and prosecution, "I have earned my stripes. He had stolen his- so had you."

"Nothing that you can prove," the voice chuckled and paused as Mal heard another vehicle pull up to the front of her home, "You know that they will execute you for what _you_ had done to those poor people."

"Not until after a very long trial and I can fight with the best of them."

"Not with that much physical evidence," the voice laughed again almost manically until they drew a breath, "I don't care what happens, Mal. You crossed me one too many times and I really need a fall man at this point. It's almost done and the 'killer' won't be around for much longer. I think the lives lost will end with you and when that simpering detective finally draws her last breath in the hospital."

"They will not find me guilty!" she said into the phone.

"Oh no?" the voice took a sharp tone, "I think that they will."

Mal looked at the receiver of the phone as if it was the person themselves staring back at her.

"I will miss you," the voice let out before the other line went dead.

Mal looked out the window once more and placed the phone back on the receiver. Her career was over even if she was found innocent. No one wants an accused murderer prosecuting for a city or town- even one as small as Storybrooke. If that was the case here, what luck would she have in larger towns like Boston? The presence of a black and white cruiser was proof enough that they had thought she was guilty- that they assumed.

After everything that she had done for them and this town- even after her one brush with the law when she was younger… They thought that she would do what that monster had done.

"If they want a monster…" she muttered and stepped from the window toward the back cupboard of her kitchen, "I will give them a truly massive dragon."

* * *

Doctor Hopper sat at the side of the Sheriff's car, pulling at the tight grip of the bullet proof vest around him. Graham seemed to be preoccupied in talking to who looked like a new recruit to the sheriff's office, while David kept checking his weapon to make sure that it wouldn't jam should he need it. Archie looked hesitantly at the weapon and then at the file that he was handed when he first stepped on scene.

"You nervous around guns, Archie?" David asked as she re-holstered his weapon and turned to the doctor. The two of them found it easy to talk with one another even though they seemed to be at two different ends of a spectrum.

"I wouldn't say nervous," Archie shook his head and locked eyes with the deputy, "I just don't like the chaos and pain that they inflict."

"It's not so much the gun's fault as it is the person behind it," David reasoned and patted the weapon at his side, "You have respect for the weapon and it will not do more damage than what you tell it to."

"Tell that to the person at the other end of the muzzle," Archie cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the file on what they had on the possible perpetrator, "Sheriff?"

"What is it, Doctor Hopper?" Graham excused himself from the blond woman who was fiddling with her new badge and came over to stand next to Archie, "Did you find something?"

"I just don't understand this," Archie shook his head and pointed at the different lines on the papers in front of him, "This- she doesn't make sense as our killer."

"You were saying that we should look at females in an authority position. Mal is very much a woman in a powerful position. She wears and buys the same perfume that was found on the items at the scenes," Graham looked toward the house where he was sure Mal was inside trying to find a way out without them knowing or a way to fight them off. She was good at disappearing and even better at turning into a vicious dragon when provoked.

"This is true," Archie nodded and then took a breath in a way to try and explain his point of view, "I just… it doesn't quite fit. She is a very powerful woman, but she isn't one that would fly low and use poison as her weapon. I feel that if she would do multiple killings, she would use something with more force."

"I agree."

"About time that you join the party," Graham smiled and looked behind Archie to see Ruby snapping on the last of her bullet proof vest and checking her weapon much like David was doing with his earlier.

"Serves you right for calling just after my shower," she threw back and stopped next to Archie who she threw a companionable nod, "I just had to throw myself together."

"It's as I told you," he smirked just slightly, "Still haven't been proven wrong."

Ruby smiled at the inside conversation and then turned to her confused sheriff, "Okay, what do we have here?"

"You know Mal more than I do," he crossed his arms over his chest, "Worked more cases with her."

"With that being said, I agree with Archie," Ruby nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, her small smile dropped. She took a breath and looked at the far window where she saw the curtains move just slightly, "Mal isn't the type to stay low. If she was going to kill people, she would let you know it."

"What? Tearing out people's hearts isn't loud enough for you?" Graham asked.

"There would be no mystery and there would be nothing quiet about it if it was Mal. What evidence is there that would link her to the killings?"

"Fiber and hair analysis," Graham nodded to Archie who handed her the file from the medical examiners and Marco, "She's the only one who has been ordering the perfume that was found on the items around the bodies. We also found some blonde hair in a victim's grasp that matched hers."

"It's too easy," Ruby said quietly and then looked up at Graham, "What did they used to tell us at the academy?"

Graham stopped to think for a moment and then took a breath, "If it's too easy…"

"It's probably not what it looks like," Ruby nodded with him and looked at the paper of evidence, "We need to dig deeper. We need to talk to her."

"I don't know if that is such a good idea," Archie shook his head and adjusted his own vest once again, "From what I hear, she has ownership over half a dozen firearms that could do good damage. If she knows we are out here-"

"She does," Ruby nodded in certainty, still skimming over the files.

"-she won't want to talk. She'll want to defend. We are encroaching on her territory. She will defend it to the nail…."

Both Graham and Ruby looked at him with brows raised.

"At least that's what I get from what I have seen, heard and read of her," he added.

"Impressive. You hit the nail on the head," Ruby nodded and with a shrug pushed the file into Archie's chest, "I guess we will have to take our chances. I am going to see if I can talk to her. Calm her down a bit."

"I don't think that would be really safe at this point," Archie placed the file on the hood of Graham's vehicle.

Ruby scoffed and shook her head, "If I wanted safe, I would have followed in Granny's footsteps and stay at the diner."

"Nah, isn't your style," Graham smiled.

"You're telling me," David muttered with a small smile as he walked by. He and Ruby had been on thin ice, but were slowly rebuilding with their mutual ground of desiring Mary's improved health.

"Don't get on my ass about that, Prince," she pointed back at him at which he lightly chuckled.

"All right, folks, let's make sure Red has some cover fire," Graham took out his weapon and nodded toward David and the new recruit. The two deputies and sheriff hunched down behind their vehicles and watched the front of the house to give Ruby cover fire should she need it.

Archie took a deep breath and looked at the chaos about to erupt, "Ruby, I-"

"Don't worry, Hopper," she threw back and patted her hand in the air as if to tell him to calm down, "Stay with Graham, I won't be long."

"Gun!" David shouted from behind his vehicle door.

Ruby wiped around and looked up in time to see Mal Ficent with a forty-five automatic, much like what they all carried. She looked like she was breathing shallowly and had that wide eyed look that Ruby knew all too well. She had given up and she was going to go down fighting.

"Mal! Don't do this!" Ruby yelled from the front of Graham's car, "You know this is all planted evidence against you."

"Then why are you here?!" she yelled and clicked back the hammer of her weapon, "You would think that I would do that?"

"No, I don't," Ruby said back and held her weapon up to keep Mal in her sights, "But you have got to calm down. We will figure this out."

"They ruined me. My career is over. My life… is over."

"No, Mal, it isn't," Ruby shook her head, "It's just going to change."

"I don't want change," Mal shook her head slowly, "I don't want anything anymore…"

Ruby saw the slight, yet humongous shift in Mal's stance. Before she could move, Mal pulled the trigger and shot directly at Ruby. The bullet hit her vest before she could shoot off her round. Ruby's bullet flew just to the side of Mal's shoulder and hit the paneling of her home. At that moment, bullets began to fly. Though getting hit a few times, Mal kept her stance and let her bullets propel at her targets.

"Ruby!" Archie yelled out as his partner hit the ground with a large thud. Archie felt his body react as he ran out from behind the car door and over to Ruby.

"Doctor, damn it, get back here!" Graham yelled out after him.

Archie pulled at Ruby's vest to get her back to the safety of the cars.

"Arch- what the hell are you doing out here?" she yelled at him, though it sounded like all the air had been sucked from her lungs.

"Trying to save your life," Archie answered and tugged again, able to get his two arms under hers. Awkward, but effective for his goal.

Mal lined up her next shot, through the man who insisted to put himself into the line of fire and into the detective. But she never got the shot off. Instead, a single bullet hit her at the side of the head and exited just as quickly. Mal breathed her last before she hit the ground. At the end of the line of cars, the new deputy held her gun up, her shot still lined even with the target on the ground.

"Swan," Graham whispered out and then looked at Mal's body, "Deputies, ensure that she isn't getting up."

"Sir!" both of them approached the body and after a second or two, they holstered their weapons and nodded with a quick call of, "Clear."

Graham was over at Archie's side as he still held Ruby under the arms. He looked her over and ran a finger over the bullet that was stuck in the vest, "Damn it, Red…"

"You don't have anything to complain about," she huffed and leaned back against Archie as dead weight. If he was going to offer the support, she was going to take it, "You aren't the one that's going to have the massive bruise later."

"You crazy…" Graham shook his head and then pointed his finger into Archie's face, "And you! What the Hell were you thinking, running in there after her without a weapon of your own?"

"I didn't really think too much," Archie admitted and shrugged as well as he could with her. He moved over the open car door and sat her in one of the seats, "All I knew is that my partner needed me and I reacted. That's what we are supposed to do, right?"

"You deserve one another," Graham pointed back and forth to one another and then threw up his hands in surrender, "You're both insane."

After Graham turned and walked toward what was left of the town prosecutor, Ruby groaned as she began to peel the vest away from her chest. In the distance she heard the ambulance heading their way. David or the one that Graham called Swan probably called it in. She gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes as she pulled at the vest. Suddenly there was a pressure on her shoulder and she looked up to see bright, blue eyes shining down at her. Her breath suddenly caught and she noticed that the blue really complimented the red of his hair.

"Let me help you," he offered and knelt down to do just that.

Her brain caught up with her and she immediately pushed him away, "No. I'm mad at you."

"What did I do this time?" he asked out in a measured breath.

"You came out to get me when I told you to stay with Graham," she said and groaned again when she pulled the vest over her side. He reached for it and she slapped at his hand. She frowned at him and he sat back on his heels to give her more space. She nodded and pulled the heavy vest off of her. She tossed it to the ground and looked him back in the eye, "You didn't have a weapon on you."

"I… I don't like using them," Archie frowned and looked away as if ashamed.

"Well, get used to it if you are going to do something stupid like that again," she muttered and pulled at her shirt to look down at the already massive looking bruise on her ribs, "Great. Add another one for the record books."

"I didn't think that it was stupid to go get my partner when she was in trouble," Archie frowned and knew that it meant that it wasn't the first time that she had been shot.

"And what help are you going to be to me when you are dead, huh?" she asked in what he could only describe as a growl, "You need to cover yourself before you can cover me."

Before he could answer a paramedic pushed past him gently to get to Ruby, "What did you do to yourself this time?"

"Got shot with the vest on," she muttered and let the paramedic work on her side.

Archie, in the meanwhile, turned from them and walked over to the other paramedic who was covering Mal with a sheet.

Graham looked up at him and then back at Ruby, "How is she?"

"Massive bruise," he said with his finger to his lips in thought, "She'll live."

"That reminds me," Graham looked at his two deputies, "Nice shot, Swan."

"I didn't get the transfer for nothing," she shrugged.

Graham nodded with a small chuckle and looked from the woman to Archie, "Doctor Hopper, this is Emma Swan. She transferred from Boston to our little town."

"Miss Swan," Archie offered his hand out to her, "Wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"Usually there aren't that many better in our line of work," Emma said with a nod and shook his hand, "You're working with the detective, right?"

"Yeah, we're working through it."

"You don't think that she's the one?" Emma nodded toward Mal.

"Not even close," Archie shook his head.

Ruby suddenly walked up to them, a hand around her middle with what looked like a strong wrap around her, "So I got a question for you, Graham."

"Got one for you too," he said and looked her over quickly, "Why aren't you in that ambulance?"

"Got better things to do and other than the bruise, I'm fine," she waved him off and then pointed to Emma, "Why wasn't _she_ my new partner?"

Archie frowned at Ruby, but she decidedly ignored him

Emma chuckled a little at the question, "I'm not the detective type. More of a front of the line type."

"More experience, too," Graham nodded and looked at the blond approvingly, "She'll be after my job before too long. Got enough credentials for it."

"Well, looks like I'm still stuck with you," Ruby looked back at Archie who still held a frown.

"Yeah, looks like it," Archie said with a hand through his hair.

"Let's get some of the paperwork started," Graham said and looked at his two deputies, "It's going to be rough."

"Tell me about it," David nodded and turned with Graham and Emma, "She was one hell of a fighter."

"You two see what you can dig up?" Graham asked and looked over his shoulder at the two.

"Right away," Archie nodded and let the sheriff go. He turned back to Ruby who looked down at the material that covered Mal's body. She saw the blood that had spread on the concrete and the small furrow on her brow only began to grow deeper. Despite whatever the woman had done in the past, she was close to Ruby. Something told him that the two women never really knew it. He took a breath and looked hard at his partner, "You going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said immediately and turned from the body and stepped toward the house.

Archie shook his head as he knew that statement alone proved that she wasn't.


	6. Chapter 5: Friend Indeed

**Chapter Five**: Friend Indeed

Ruby was already head first into the artifacts of the prosecutor's home when Archie walked through the front door. He stood in the doorway and looked at the entrance of the room and what was displayed as the first impression of the woman's home. It was clean, but was decorated all in dark wood and dark purples. A sense of mystery and danger surrounded visitors who didn't know the woman personally. He even admitted to himself that he felt a little off being in the room, but it looked like Ruby was calm and collected. Ruby picked at the trinkets on the nearby bookcase with a trained and unbiased face. She looked for things that no one else would because out of any other officer, she probably knew the woman the best.

It was no wonder that Graham and others had called her the dragon of the court. She knew her law and she knew how to use it as a vicious weapon if need be. He saw her accomplishments along one of her living room walls through an archway from where he stood. He also noticed that many sculptures and pieces of art work were renaissance in nature and style. Most depicting glorious beasts of old and the brave, or some would say foolish, knights that dared to fight them. She was awfully fond of the creatures and it looked like she tried in her own way to become one that no knight would win against.

As more crime technicians filed into the home, staying clear of Ruby and Archie, he looked at the side wall of what looked like a sitting room and noticed newspaper clippings and pictures of a girl that was in her late teens. There were quite a few pictures of the young woman and separate pictures of an older woman who looked to be her mother. They didn't look like they had any relation to the now late prosecutor, but she definitely had a great fascination with them. The newspaper clippings followed the life of the younger woman. Her mother had died young and the daughter looked like she would follow her mother's footsteps according to the clippings. She recovered quickly with the help of a young med student who was almost convicted of some underhanded deals shortly thereafter. That's where the wall ended and the pictures stopped.

"That's Dawn," Ruby said from behind Archie who jumped from her silent approach.

"I read," he nodded and cleared his throat as she stepped from behind him and stood next to him. He looked over the picture of the young woman again, "She isn't related to Miss Ficent, is she?"

"No," Ruby shook her head sadly, "That's the only blemish that you will ever find on Mal's record."

"Blemish?"

"Mal and Dawn's mother didn't get along well," Ruby said and leaned against the wall while she still looked at the pictures, "Mal was once a good friend of Dawn's parents- more to the point, her father- but was never invited to their wedding, or to Dawn's christening. She felt shunned and ashamed. She then called and told Dawn's mother that she wouldn't get away with separating her from her friend."

"I bet that went over well."

"Not too well, no," she shook her head and laughed a little to herself, "Mal was still in her twenties when she and Dawn's mother had a row out in a parking lot. No one knew for sure who had started it, but according to Dawn, the only witness, it was Mal. She was charged for assault and paid her dues for it. Not too long after that, Dawn's mother got sick."

"Was it from Mal?"

"Not that anyone could prove," Ruby shook her head and looked at him in the eyes, "I believed that she did, though. There was a lot of hate and plenty of opportunity. After she passed away, Dawn got sick. Her father thought that it was still Mal, but still no proof and Mal barely had any contact with Dawn- if any with how paranoid the father was."

"What is this about the med student?" Archie pointed to the article.

"Mal's big blemish," Ruby nodded, "She tried to prosecute him for underhanded deals with the local gangs. It didn't go far and as far as I know, both he and Dawn were living well with one another. I got most of the history of it from past police records and reports; Mal never liked to talk about it much."

"Strange since she made a shrine to the family and the events that played out," Archie sighed and looked over the wall again.

"Come on, we got a lot of ground to cover," Ruby tugged at his rolled shirt sleeve and walked toward the next room.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, Archie looked over the rooms and tried to learn more of the woman who just forfeited her life. From what he could tell, she was powerful, felt jilted and was a force to be reckoned with. Although, the only vengeance that she had a target for was for the young woman named Dawn. She was untouchable from Mal's point of view, so there would be no reason to take it out on others of the town. She was successful and for the most part feared. She wouldn't be a killer. Not like the one that they have still on the loose.

Archie searched through her side office, not too far from the kitchen. Her files were impeccable and ordered chronologically. It made it more difficult to find a specific case unless you knew its date, but efficient enough for her. On her desk were a few cases she must have been working on. One was a custody battle that was just starting from the looks of it.

"Ruby?" Archie asked as she poked her head in from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"Did she ever do custody cases?" he asked and held up the file for her to see.

"She liked to bypass family court if at all possible," Ruby frowned and picked the file from his hand when she was close enough. She read over it and hummed in recognition, "No wonder. It's the mayor's kid."

"The mayor has a son?" Archie asked a little surprised. He has met the woman no a few occasions and she was not the most motherly of women from what he saw.

"Adopted," Ruby nodded and flipped through the pages to come to the back page where her eyes widened, "Guess who the birth mom is?"

Archie looked over her shoulder and was as surprised as she was, "Our new deputy. Miss Swan."

"Looks like she wants her kid back," Ruby nodded, "I don't blame her. For being raised by a horror like Regina, Henry is an awesome kid."

"Ruby," Archie frowned at her description of a mayor.

"You're lucky you don't have her breathing down your neck just yet," Ruby smirked and pushed the file into his chest. She looked at the desk, "What other cases was she looking at?"

"One from a year ago," Archie pointed to a file.

"The Spencer case," she nodded and looked up at him, "One of mine. Corrupt judge. We got him on murder and dealings with the local gangs."

"… then this one," he opened another file which he huffed at, "She was looking at the Gold Case."

"Great, maybe she found a way to lock him away for good."

"I think that she was putting her finishing touches on it," he added and put the files back down on the desk.

"Shame," Ruby said nonchalantly and turned to him, "You know that your assistant has the hots for him, don't you?"

"Ruby! Really," he looked hard at her.

"I am serious. Told me herself in a roundabout way," she waved her hand through the air as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"In a roundabout way?" he asked, repeating her.

"You aren't the only one good at reading people," she pointed at him and then rounded the corner.

He shook his head with a fond smile and thought that Belle's personal life should just not be discussed unless it truly interfered with his or her work. Gold was a free man and whether or not he pursued Belle was between the two of them, though it did unnerve Archie a bit since the man had just finished his sentence for killing his wife.

"Hey Archie," Ruby called from the next room past the kitchen.

He walked through the pristine kitchen and through the next door into what looked like a garden. He looked at the ceiling and noticed the glass that surrounded the whole room, "A green house. Beautiful."

"Who would have thought that she had such a green thumb," she smiled and chuckled sadly at the many plants. There were the obvious choices like petunias and lilies and then in the far corner were what looked like Venus fly traps and cactus. She walked over to the side of the room and found dozens of vines growing up one wall. Her hand unconsciously shifted toward the closest vine, "What are these, jungle vines?"

"No," Archie caught her hand before she could touch it. He looked closer to be sure, "They are roses."

"Rose vines?" she asked unsure she believed him.

"You could train some rose species to be able to climb up trellises or walls," he explained and finally looked back at her. Ruby looked down between them where he still held her hand. He let go quickly and blushed from the extended touch. He cleared his throat, "You have to be careful of the thorns. You can't see them as well on these."

"Noted," she nodded with a slight smirk at his actions. She continued to walk through the home until they came back to the front room, "Well, what do you think?"

"She's definitely not the killer we are looking for," he said with a sigh and looked at her, "Although, we already knew that coming in."

"So what else have we learned?" she asked and huffed with a look around the room, "What are we missing?"

Archie looked with her and then his eyes trailed to the phone connected to what looked like a very large message machine. He walked over and pressed the large button that was blinking. The machine beeped and rewound a small tape that was still in it. Then with another click, it began to play back the message.

"_What did you do?" _

"That's Mal's voice," Ruby said and stepped toward Archie to look down at the large machine.

"_A little planting of evidence while backs are turned is easy enough, Mal. A few of your affects at the crime scenes and maybe some hair follicles in someone's grasp and you were in two places at once. Would you look at that? I made you magical."_

"A voice distorter," Archie said to himself and tapped his finger against his chin.

"_You know that I will find a way to catch you, even if I have to go behind bars. I will not let you get the best of me- friend or not."_

"Well," Archie stopped the tape for now and reached down to take the tape out of the machine. Ruby pulled out an evidence bag from her back pocket, with a bit of a struggle, and let him drop it in. He looked at the tape and then looked at her, "We know something now."

"What's that?"

"She wasn't the killer, but she knew who was. She didn't trust them all that much either if she was taping their conversations," Archie looked at the tape again and nodded to the door where the last of the crime scene technicians were beginning to bag and tag every possible lead, "Let's see what Marco and his boys can do with it, shall we?"

* * *

Back at the station, officers were going through box after box of what looked like files and coffee stained documents. Ruby and Archie stood side by side just inside the doorway as they looked over the madness.

"What kind of new Hell did we stumble into this time?" Ruby muttered and took a deep breath as she scanned the room for Graham. He seemed to be toward the middle of it with David at one side and Emma nowhere to be seen.

"I'll take the tape down to Marco and see what we can do," Archie offered and took the bag from her grasp, "I'll be back up in a few."

"Yeah, thanks," she nodded and began to make her way through the few desks of officers and toward the Sheriff. Ruby asked once she was close enough that he could hear her, "Graham, I know you said you had paper work to do, but…. shit."

"Just in time, Red," he sighed and shook a handful of pages in her face, "From Stealthy with love."

"Stealthy?" Ruby frowned and looked at the pages as he was still waving them in her face. She grabbed his wrist and took the pages from him to look them over closer, "I thought that we already looked over all his files."

"Guess who found a storage compartment that he rented?" David asked with a grunt and pushed another small box aside.

"You found an unknown storage compartment?" Ruby asked with a brow raised.

"No, Emma did," David shrugged and looked at Ruby, "I hate to admit it, but the woman has talent. She's good at finding things."

"Maybe she should be a detective," Ruby looked pointedly at Graham.

"No, she doesn't want it," he shook his head with a familiar smirk, "Besides; she's new to this town. Has a good outsider perspective. Unlike the rest of us. We know everybody in this town. I never knew Stealthy as one to keep a storage locker."

"I wouldn't have pegged him as one, either," Ruby agreed and then looked for the blonde, "Where is Swan?"

"She's writing up her report on her shot," Graham said and nodded toward his office.

"Ah," she nodded toward a box, "Hand me over the next one."

"Nope, these are ours," Graham smiled playfully at his detective and friend, "You have your box of things from Mal's place and office to comb through with your partner."

"But this is my case," she argued.

"And you'll need all the help you can get," he nodded with a note of finality, "Did you find anything while you were there before they started the clean up?"

"Mal wasn't the killer, but she knew who was," Ruby sighed and watched David's brow furrow and relax as he read over Stealthy's files, "Archie found a tape that had a recording of her talking with them before she came out to face us."

"We have their voice?" Graham sat up straighter at the thought.

"Under the influence of a distorter," she said sadly and she saw him deflate just a little, "Archie took the tape down to Marco to see if he can get the original voice out. Unlikely, though."

"We can only hope for the best," he shrugged and nodded toward her small office, "Get to it. They started to bring in her files a few minutes before you got here. I hope they are more organized than these are."

"Damn it, Stealthy," David cursed and pulled another box toward him.

* * *

Ruby pulled open the first box and saw that they were the files that she and Archie looked over at the home, "Might as well start with these."

"What was the commotion out there?" Archie asked as he came into the room and peeked into the box in front of her.

"They found a grand collection of Stealthy's," Ruby said with a bit of distraction and flipped open the Gold case file that Mal had compiled, "Graham says that he is going to oversee that and that we get to go through Mal's files which are being sent over from her office and home."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I am glad we got the more organized of the two," he said and picked up the custody file folder he had read from earlier.

"Yeah," she agreed and read the prosecutor's notes.

"I have a question," Archie said out of nowhere a few moments later and she flicked her eyes over the file toward him. She lifted her eyebrows as a cue to him to continue. He took a breath and put the file on his lap, "If it is too personal, please tell me and I will back off-"

"For God's sake, Archie," she rolled her eyes, "Just ask me."

"Do all of you have nicknames?" he asked with a brow raised.

"You feeling left out?" she smirked back at him, "We can always make one for you."

"No, no... it's not that," he shook his head, "I was just wondering how you got them."

"Nolan got his from the number of take downs in his career. The one that always rushes in head first into glory with weapon held high," Ruby began with an amused chuckle, "He's the prince of the station. So we usually call him Prince- or if I really want to get on his nerves, Princie. Mary would often call him Charming."

"Does the sheriff have one?"

"We used to call him the Huntsman because he never let a criminal escape him," she coughed a little, but sounded like a laugh to Archie, "When he was in the academy, he would be the first to run after a perp and the last to give up."

"You two went to the academy together."

"Yeah, he, Mary and I. He got better scores, why he raised through the ranks so quickly. Plus, he is good at what he does."

"Sounds like his name fit him. Why did you all stop?"

"He asked us to when he became sheriff," she shrugged, "We have enough respect for him to do so."

"He has brought the crime rate down in Storybrooke since he became sheriff. A lot of people have faith in him and his team."

"It's why we never let him down," she nodded and looked at Mary's desk, "Mary's name was Snow."

"Snow?"

"She's the warmest and most friendly person you could ever meet," she described her sister and then chuckled with an evil smirk, "But you get in her interrogation room- whew, you better be ready for a snow storm. Cold as ice and she will get what she needs from you. Therefore: Snow."

"And Red?" he asked.

Ruby looked unsure and bit her bottom lip as she looked him over.

"That's what they called you, isn't it? Red?" he asked again.

"It's because of all the blood on my hands," she whispered and set the case folder down. She got up from her chair and without looking back, walked through the door, "I'm going to go get some coffee. We are going to be at these files for a while."

Archie sat alone near her desk, still staring where she left. He nodded his head with a sigh and looked down at the folder in his hands, "Okay, Ruby… okay."


	7. Chapter 6: Caring

**Chapter Six**: Caring

Ruby walked into the diner around seven and sat herself down heavily onto one of the bar stools. She folded her arms over one another at the counter and then dropped her head on top of them. She let out a large breath and groaned into the polished bar top. With a faint click of ceramic hitting the polished surface she knew that there was now a full cup of passion fruit tea at her right elbow, waiting for her to resurface.

"Tough day, Ruby?" her Granny asked her from the other side of the counter.

"That would be an understatement," she groaned into her arms and then pulled her head up just enough to perch her chin over her arms.

"They finally named the killer," Granny said off hand.

"Oh?"

"The Heart Stealer."

"Original," Ruby groaned and her eyes looked up at her grandmother, "I guess that you heard about Mal?"

"Yes, the whole town has heard thanks to that vulture, Sydney Glass," she huffed and scrubbed at an invisible stain on the counter top with her rag, "He probably would have aired the whole thing live if he had the chance."

"He's scum, but he's accurate scum," she nodded and pulled herself up to sip from the cup to her right. She hummed in delight from the warm liquid and smiled fondly at the cup.

"They said that she was killed by a cop, after she hit one," Granny said in a tone that meant she was fishing for information. When Ruby only nodded, she dug deeper, "… both of them were female. So who was it that shot her and who took the bullet?"

Ruby sighed and put down the cup before she turned and lifted her shirt slightly to show her grandmother the large bruise, "She got me in the vest."

"Ruby!" Granny's eyebrows furrowed with worry and she immediately hit her granddaughter on the side of the head, "This is why I worry about you! Keep your head in the game and stop putting yourself at risk. It's bad enough that Mary is in a coma. I don't need to lose you too."

"We haven't lost her yet, Gran," Ruby reminded her and spun her cup gently so not to spill the tea.

"I know, I know," Granny sighed and collected herself. She cupped Ruby's face in her hands and looked down into her eyes, "Just… don't put yourself in those situations where you may not come back. You are all I have, child."

Ruby put a soft hand on Granny's wrist and smiled closed mouthed up at her, "I will try. Okay? That's the best I can do right now."

"Okay," Granny nodded and shook Ruby's head a little in a tease before she dropped a kiss to her forehead and turned toward the door where a new customer had just walked in if the bell was any indication. Granny smiled wide, "Welcome to Granny's Diner, stranger. What can I get you?"

"Do you have a turkey club?"

Ruby's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she couldn't help the groan that escaped her. She turned in her seat and saw her partner with two case files under his arms and a friendly smile at Granny. He had a kind of boyish charm when he smiled like that.

'_Stop it, Ruby!'_ she yelled at herself in her mind.

"Only the best in town," Granny nodded and swatted him playfully in the shoulder, "Take a seat and I will get it going for you."

"Thank you," he nodded and looked around the diner before his eyes caught hers, "Ruby?"

"I just can't get away from you, can I?" she asked with sarcasm dripping heavily from her words.

"Doesn't seem that way," he shook his head and sat next to her at the bar. After a moment of her sipping on her tea and him shuffling on his seat he asked lamely, "So this is your Granny's place?"

"Yup, has her name on it and everything," she said in a voice that reminded her of a much younger her.

"Here's your turkey club, bacon hot of the grill and a tall glass of water," Granny said as she set the food on the counter in front of him, "Sorry, I didn't ask what you wanted to drink."

"It's no bother, water is fine," he nodded and sipped out of the glass as if to assure her.

"Good to know," she smiled and looked at the close proximity of the new man to Ruby. Ruby was doing her part to try and ignore the stranger, but her eyes kept bouncing between her cup and him, "Do you two know one another?"

"Oh, here we go," Ruby sighed and looked up at the ceiling before she took a breath of courage and looked to Granny, "Granny, this is my new partner, Doctor Archibald Hopper. It looks like he followed me here."

"Archie, please," he said as he shook her hand, "And I didn't follow her here. I followed the scent of what smelled like great food."

"Nothing but the best," she smiled and shook his hand back.

"I hear a lot about you from Ruby and Marco at the station," he said in small talk and Granny seemed to glow.

"From Ruby, I don't believe all that much," she said and looked pointedly at Ruby before she turned back to the man, "From Marco, on the other hand; he certainly has his way with words."

"Among other things, I bet," Ruby smirked as she sipped from her tea.

Granny threw her another warning look, "Why didn't you tell me about your partner?"

"There really isn't that much to tell about me," Archie said quickly and then turned to Ruby with a teasing smile, "Is there?"

She turned back to him with her eyes narrowed, "Nothing at all."

"Ruby Lucas!" Granny frowned and smacked her granddaughter on the side of the head once again, "Manners, girl."

Ruby rubbed the side of her head where Granny hit her and heard Archie try to smother a snort of a laugh into his glass of water. Ruby gave him a glare that promised pay back down the road.

"So, Doctor Hopper-"

"Archie," he corrected with a smile.

"Archie," Granny nodded in apology, "I haven't seen you around these parts before. Are you new to Storybrooke?"

"Not too new, I am the local forensic psychologist; have been for a few years now. I was born and raised near Boston. They brought me in for the Gold case over seven years ago and I came back to settle here a couple of years ago since I liked the town so much. True, there aren't many big cases in such a small town, but it was nice and I could always open my own private practice. Although, I am surprised and appalled that I never had the joy of walking into your diner."

"Oh, now you are just fishing for a free dinner," she smiled and waved her towel back at him, "Keep going and I will throw in a slice of pie."

"Just telling you like I see it," he said, "I believe that it's always better to start and continue with honesty. Lying doesn't get you anywhere. In my experience, it actually sets you back more than a few paces."

"Isn't that right?" Granny nodded and watched how Ruby tried to keep her eyes directly on the cup of tea in front of her, though her eyes seemed to jump over to the side where Archie was sitting. Granny smirked and looked at the doctor quickly, "Seeing as you are my granddaughter's new partner, I must insist that you come over for dinner tomorrow night."

"Granny!" Ruby shouted and almost coughed up the tea half way down her throat.

Archie laughed and patted Ruby on the back to make sure that she didn't choke. After he was sure that she could breathe again he turned his attention back to Granny, "I would love to. When and where?"

"Ruby can give you the address," Granny smiled and rubbed up the drops of saliva and tea that her granddaughter decorated the counter with calmly as if it happened every day. After she was done with all the spots she stood tall and put her hands on her hips, "I start dinner promptly at seven. Call me if you two are going to be late with your case."

"Will do," Archie smiled and nodded in thanks, "I look forward to it."

"That settles that. Ruby, I expect you over earlier so you can help me prepare. I am thinking that something special is in order," she smiled and turned to Ruby, "Close your mouth, child, you'll catch flies if you leave it open like that."

Ruby slowly closed her mouth and gave Granny the stink eye until she left to bus the tables. She then turned to her partner who already had a cheek full of turkey club. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked hard at him.

"What did I do now?" he said through the sandwich in his mouth, though he covered his mouth with his hand to try and be polite.

"How did you do that?" she said in a low warning voice, "**No one** is invited to dinner."

He swallowed the bite and sighed, "She just said because I was your partner."

"It's too easy," she shook her head and tipped the rest of the tea down her throat. She stood from her stool and shrugged her bag over her shoulder, "I will see you tomorrow."

"No friendly chit-chat?" he asked with a smile.

"Don't you dare get cocky," she pointed at him before she left out the door.

He couldn't help but laugh at the first time he saw his partner off of her game.

* * *

"I didn't know who else to come to talk to about this," Ruby said as she leaned back in the hard plastic chair and looked up at the ceiling, "He is driving me insane. The bad part is, is that he is doing so by being a pretty decent human being. I mean, who does that anymore?"

Silence met her and she groaned as she sat up. She looked across the small space between her and her conversation partner. Mary Blanchard was still sleeping peacefully in a coma, unaware of the outside world around her. Even more so, she was blissfully oblivious of her sister and partner's manic breakdown at the side of her hospital bed.

"Mary," Ruby leaned forward and cupped her friend's hand in both of hers, "You've always had the best advice, and I really need some right now. I know you can't talk back- probably can't even hear me, but… I am so confused and I need my strength back. I need my rock."

Nothing but the beeping of the monitors answered her pleading for her partner and she leaned back again, her hands still over Mary's.

"I don't know what to do," she continued and took a deep breath, "Now that we have started fresh, I am starting to notice more things about him. Things that I like… his smile, the way that he taps for crap's sake. I can't do this! Then, Granny invited him to dinner. Granny! You know that doesn't happen. She usually never lets men into the house. Now, he just waltzes in the diner one night and he has a seat at our table? That doesn't happen. I had to beg her for four weeks until she let Peter in. Six for Billy. What is it about this guy that just gets him under your skin?"

"It's a talent."

Ruby gasped and looked at the doorway where Belle stood with a small bouquet of yellow lilies and carnations with white Baby's Breath spread throughout. Belle smiled hesitantly and set the bouquet down near the vase of red roses that David had brought in earlier that week. She took a seat beside Ruby and looked up at the woman in the bed.

"She's really pretty," Belle said in a near whisper as if she would wake up the slumbering woman.

"She is," Ruby nodded and took a deep breath, "She's the best."

Belle frowned and the detective's soft spoken demeanor for the moment, "Ruby…"

"Yeah, Belle?"

"Why were you ranting about my boss when I came in?"

"Because he is confusing as all Hell," Ruby said with a tight smile, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Belle nodded and fiddled with her hands that sat in her lap, "Are you angry with him?"

"No…" Ruby sighed and leaned back in her chair fully, letting go of Mary's hand, "No, I'm not."

"Then what's wrong?"

"You know, I have had my share of guys pass through. Both in relationships and through investigations," Ruby shrugged and looked at Belle, "I've gone through a lot of them. There's the clingy one, the independent soft spoken type, the bad boys, the macho men, the wanna be gentleman… Archie is the first guy that has never lied to me."

"He isn't the type to," Belle shrugged, "He doesn't like to. Doesn't believe in it."

"How do you put up with it?" Ruby asked with a strained laugh.

Belle giggled, "I find it quite refreshing. As you noted, there aren't many men who keep that belief system."

"I know he is trying to be a good guy. I do," Ruby took a breath to pause, "But my mind can't help but think that it's all a trick to try and get something later. You know?"

"You don't trust him," Belle said softly.

"I trust him with my life," she said unbelievably, "He went out in the middle of a gun fight without a weapon to get me out of harm's way."

"I know that," Belle shook her head and looked Ruby in the eyes, "You don't trust him with the rest of you."

"I don't trust anyone with the rest of me," Ruby said seriously and got out of her chair and settled near the window, "Everyone that I do, gets hurt one way or another."

Belle turned in her chair and looked between Ruby and Mary, "But they seem to believe that it is worth the risk."

"And see where it gets them?" Ruby asked and pointed her hand open palmed to Mary, "She knew everything about me. Things Granny doesn't even know or could fathom. I pour my heart and soul to her because she knows me. Now, there could be a chance, she will never know anything again. How can I do that to another person?"

"She's just one person, Ruby, and her getting injured wasn't because of you. It was because of that killer out there," Belle started, "I know she means a lot to you, but just because she got hurt doesn't mean that everyone you let in will."

"She isn't the only one," Ruby shook her head and hugged herself.

"Ruby, I think that you made your own curse," Belle nodded as she said it. She looked at Ruby who looked more than confused. Belle sighed and stood up to stand in front of her, "Things happen… and they happen for a reason. Our life's challenges are never more than what we can handle. It's our choice on how to overcome them, or be crushed under them."

"That's beautiful," Ruby chuckled lightly, "Where did you hear that from?"

"Where do you think?"

Ruby stared at her for a long moment and then looked down, "I will not care for someone when I know they can be hurt."

"Then you won't care for anyone ever again," Belle said sadly and put and hand over her arm, "Everyone is able to be hurt. It's a human condition. Is that what you want?"

"If it keeps them safe… that's all I ever want," Ruby looked up at her with tears glossed over her eyes, "Them safe and happy. I can take the consequences if they are safe and happy."

"Oh, Ruby," Belle shook her head sadly, "I hope that one day you can let others in. You deserve to be happy too."

"I wish that I could believe that," she said and took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay, "But my happiness died a long time ago."

"That's the thing about happiness," Belle put a hand to Ruby's face and smiled a little brighter in hope that she would do the same, "It comes and goes, but when it comes after a drought; that's when it is the brightest. Happiness never truly dies completely. It just dims for a little while. You got to find another sun to cut through your clouds."

Ruby just stared at Belle in wonder, "You're a good friend."

"… but you aren't going to let me in," she said regretfully after Ruby paused.

"No, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I understand more than you know," she smiled again and stepped back from her new friend. She took a breath and looked at Mary, "Hope she feels better soon."

"You heading home?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I have quite a few things to do tomorrow," Belle nodded and walked toward the doorway.

"Goodnight, Belle," Ruby said as she sat back into her chair, "Oh! Thanks for the flowers."

"I'm not the one to thank," Belle smiled, "I was just dropping them off for my boss."

Ruby let out a sad chuckle at that, "Of course."

"Goodnight, Ruby," Belle said and walked around the corner.

On the other side of the door, Archie Hopper stood straight backed as he stared at the opposite wall. Belle smiled sadly up at him and patted him on his shoulder. She caught him frozen in the same spot with the flowers in his hands. He didn't want to walk in during Ruby's rant about him, so Belle took the flowers and did it for him. He was there to drop off flowers for the woman who had taken the bullet for her partner; he didn't mean to snoop or overhear, but it just happened. Happenstance could be a bit of a bitch at times.

'_See you tomorrow_,' Belle mouthed to him and walked down the hallway toward the elevator.

Inside the hospital room Ruby reached for Mary's hand once again, "So… what do you think I should do about him, huh?"

After a deep sigh and thoughtful silence he heard her answer her own question.

"I won't let him in, Snow. I can't… I already care enough for him that I don't want him hurt."

He closed his eyes at the sadness laced in her words and pushed himself from the wall. He walked softly down the hall and toward the entrance. His mind wrapped around one thought.

'_She cares… and so do I.'_


	8. Chapter 7: Dinner

**Chapter Seven**: Dinner

Ruby got out of the office a good hour before the sure to be the ill fated dinner with Granny and Archie. She immediately went to her apartment and looked through her closet for something different to wear. She didn't know why she cared even as she dug through the clothes. She usually just wore whatever she wore to the office to dinner with granny, but tonight felt different. Her hand paused in mid air as it was going to grab at another silk shirt.

"I want to impress him," she thought out loud to herself in an almost surprised tone and she shook her head as her hand backed away from the shirt, "No, no… I just want to make sure that he doesn't think… any less of me. Dammit! That's the same thing!"

Perdita walked into the bedroom to look for her owner who seemed to be in distress. The wolfdog pulled at Ruby's pant leg and gained the woman's attention.

"Hey Perdi," she smiled and knelt down in front of her dog. She ruffled the fur between her dog's ears and hugged her around the neck, "I'm okay."

Perdita whined and licked at Ruby's face.

"Okay, maybe not completely fine," Ruby backed away and looked back at her closet. She thought to herself what this night might actually mean. A little over a week ago, she would have rather thrown the guy out on the curb, now she wanted him around more often. She didn't mind his tapping or his upbeat attitude or his optimism. She actually enjoyed it all if she was honest with herself, "Well, I'm in too deep now."

Ruby searched only a few minutes later before she found a casual, but nice fitting sun dress in shades of red. She checked her hair and decided that it would do. She slapped on her favorite shade of lipstick and left the rest of her face natural. She wasn't going to take the mustang since Granny lived only a few doors down and put on some comfortable, but in her opinion, cute flats. She whistled to her dog and put her on her leash as she grabbed a small bag.

"Let's go see what Granny is going to put me through tonight, shall we?" she asked Perdita who only wagged her tail as they left the house.

Only a few minutes later, Ruby was at the door and let herself in, "Granny! I'm here to help."

"About time," Granny smiled as she rounded a corner with an apron around her waist. She petted the dog and let her off the leash before Ruby could do so, "That's a beautiful Perdita. I have a surprise for you in the back yard."

Perdita hopped playfully from paw to paw as Granny led her to the sliding glass door. There in the back yard was Pongo. Both dogs barked playfully at one another and began to romp around on the grass.

"Pongo!" Ruby gasped and turned toward her Granny who had a guilty grin smothered on her face, "Then that means…"

Granny didn't answer and only moved her eyes toward the kitchen. Ruby walked in the same pathway and into the kitchen where Archie stood in one of Granny's extra aprons, his shirt sleeves rolled up higher than what she was used to and wrist deep in a bowl of what looked like pastry dough. He was wearing the same outfit he was earlier at the office, but she noticed that he tried to tame his hair a little and he switched out the sweater vest for a black solid vest.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked out loud.

Archie jumped a little from the forcefulness in her voice. He opened his mouth to give his excuse, but it only hung open when he caught sight of what she was wearing. She could track his eyes as they moved over her form and where the dress seemed to stretch slightly over curves. He felt his throat tighten and the poor dough that he was kneading and mixing in the bowl was squashed between his fingers as he was gripping it too tight. She cleared her throat and brought his attention back to her eyes.

"Oh! Um, I…" he tried to shake his thoughts back into order and felt his face light up with what he was sure was a impressive blush, "I'm helping to make dinner."

"Wasn't that nice of him, Ruby?" Granny asked as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed the chicken to get it set for the oven, "Came over early to make sure that we were going to be okay."

Ruby was then the one to be caught with her mouth open. She didn't know what to say to that because, yes it was nice. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, both proper and sincere.

'Dammit,' Ruby muttered in her mind and shut her mouth. She tossed her small bag down and grabbed the last extra apron from the hook at the side of the door. She took a sparing glance at Archie's which read 'Kiss the Cook' and she had to close her eyes for a moment before she went forward with the evening. She hated to admit it, but she loved to see a guy in the kitchen just as much as she liked to be in one. As silly as the apron looked on him, he still looked really good. She walked up to the kitchen island and looked at Granny, "Where do you want me?"

"Start on the dessert," she pushed Ruby right next to Archie and pointed to the fruits, "You know how I like my pie filling."

"What about dinner?" Ruby asked and looked quickly at Archie and then back at her Granny.

"Oh, I have that taken care of," she smiled and tossed the small chicken into the oven. She set the timer and then looked at the two of them, "Archie?"

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"Would you mind if I cooed over your dalmatian? He is quite a beauty and I love dogs," Granny mentioned and looked out the back door at the two dogs still leaping over one another.

"Not at all," Archie shook his head and Granny took off her apron and tossed it on a hook before she went out back to see the dogs.

"Sneaky, sneaky," Ruby muttered under her breath as she cut up the fruit and began to add sugar. She knew exactly what her grandmother was doing and at the moment, she wasn't sure if she was against it or not.

"What was that?" Archie asked and took the dough from the bowl and grabbed a pan from the side to start.

"Granny," Ruby said in answer and then put a hand quickly to cover one of his.

Archie looked at their hands and flicked his eye up to hers, both eyes widening just a bit.

"You got to roll it out first," she said and handed him the rolling pin before she went back to her duty.

"Oh, right," he nodded.

"You aren't really known around the kitchen, are you?" she asked with a slight smile.

"I'm more of a science man, than a cooking man," he admitted, "I nuke most of my meals."

"Don't let Granny hear you say that," she whispered, "Besides, you're baking. Not cooking at the moment."

"I don't see much difference," he said before she started to roll.

"Don't do it too hard," she warned him. Her mind suddenly took a back seat as an image sprouted forward from somewhere in her chest. She closed her eyes and shook her head as her body went along with it. She just prayed that she wouldn't regret it.

Ruby pulled her hair back and twisted it into one long rope before placing it over one of her shoulders. She ducked under his arms and put her hands lightly over his own on the rolling pin. She felt his body become ram rod straight in nervousness and she smirked at the small win in her favor. This is what he gets for teasing her earlier at the diner.

"You want to push it firmly, but not as if you are trying to flatten clay," she said carefully as if coxing him out. She pushed his hands with hers and after a few moments felt him begin to relax. Her arms began to rest over his bare forearms and she noticed the fine musculature of his arms. She bit her bottom lip and tried to stay in control. This was Archie she was with- the doctor, her partner… and the man that just took a long intake of breath through his nose like he was sniffing her hair. She stopped her motions over his hands and looked over her shoulder to look up at him, "You think you got it?"

"Yeah," he said in a deeper voice than what she was used to.

"Uh, good," she smiled quickly and ducked back under his arms to finish up the pie filling. The next few minutes she could feel his eyes on her more often than the pie crust and she took the opportunity to lick her fingers of the fruit filling she had finished. She heard something close to a squeak come from his direction and she smirked, 'Gotcha.'

"Okay, the pan is filled, now what?" he asked as he showed her his handiwork, still a bit red.

"Good job," she smiled up at him and tossed her filling in the pan, "Now to cover it up and put it in the second oven."

They quickly made short work of covering the pie and put it in the oven without any other hang ups. He looked at his hands which were covered in different ingredients and looked up at Ruby. She saw something change in his eyes.

"You look really nice tonight, Ruby," he mentioned and held his hands in front of him, unsure if he was going to need to wash them just yet.

"Thank you," she smiled and tugged at his apron, "This really sets off your assembly as well."

He chuckled and turned to the side, "You think? I was trying for something a bit more contemporary."

She laughed loudly at that and pushed a hand against the apron to leave a purple mark from the mixture she handled.

"And I was proud that I kept myself mostly clean," he pouted and looked at her.

"And what are you going to do about it?" she asked with a lift of one brow.

He narrowed his eyes and with a quick swipe of his hand, deposited a good amount of the pie residue on her cheek. Her eyes grew in surprise from the playful gesture and shook her head as she ran a finger through the remnants of the fruit bowl and showed it to him.

"You wouldn't," he shook his head.

"Try me, Hopper," she narrowed her eyes back at him and he rounded the counter to be on the other side from her and they rounded the island, "You can't stay away forever."

"If you give me good reason to, I will," he said back.

She jumped to one side and as he ran the opposite way, she switched back and ran right into him, smearing the fruit mix over his nose and cheek, "Ha! Gotcha!"

He wiped at the mixture and looked at her as she laughed loudly. He watched her for a minute and took in how beautiful- not just pretty- she looked when she was genuinely happy. Her eyes shut tight in laughter as her eyes opened only a bit, tears of happiness almost pushing out over her cheeks. Her white teeth shone against the dark red of her painted lips through a smile that was anything but forced. This was the woman that she hid away from everyone. She was amazing.

He licked at what he had managed to wipe off and smiled, "Mixed berry. My favorite."

"All right, you two!" Granny walked in and noticed the two of them with mirth in their eyes, "Into the bathroom. Get washed up. Almost time to eat."

"Okay, Granny," Ruby calmed down and held out a hand toward him, "Come on, baker. I will show you where the bathroom is and where we can hang that apron."

Granny stayed back into the kitchen and watched after the man and her granddaughter. She hadn't seen Ruby laugh like that in quite a while.

* * *

"So, without telling me too much, how is the case coming along?" Granny asked towards the end of dinner and the small yet delicious spread was nearly gone between the three of them. Granny sat at the head of the table while Ruby and Archie faced one another at either of her sides. Both Pongo and Perdita laid nearby on a large group of blankets that Granny had always set aside for Perdita.

"It's at a standstill, I guess you can say," Archie looked up at Ruby who had let her hair loose again from the rope she had tied it in during their time of cooking and baking. She poked at the crust of the pie that they had made together and held a small smile.

"Standstill?"

"We are growing colder, Gran," Ruby said with a frown when the talk of work went on, "If we don't get any leads soon, we may lose the case until they kill again. We are really hoping that the tech unit can decode the voice that we found on a recording at Mal's before that happens."

"Ah," Granny nodded and pointed her fork at Archie, "Can you do me a favor, Archie?"

"I will try my best," he nodded at the older woman.

"Will you try to talk some sense into my granddaughter about her getting shot," Granny the jabbed her fork in Ruby's direction.

"Granny!" Ruby almost screamed at her grandmother and bugged her eyes out to try to get her to stop, "That isn't Archie's responsibility."

"So says you," Archie said with a smirk. He turned back to Granny, "If you have any tips on how to do that without her getting mad at me, I am all ears. The last thing I want to see is her hit with another bullet."

"You are both against me," Ruby mumbled and stood up to grab the plates from the table. Archie immediately stood up with her. Ruby looked between him and his plate before she put a hand on her hip and looked over at him, "What are you doing?"

"A lady stands from the table, so does the men," he explained.

"More of that old fashioned chivalry?" Ruby asked and took his plate from in front of him and then Granny's.

"It shouldn't be old fashioned if it shows respect," Archie said again and sat back down in his chair as Ruby went into the kitchen and rinsed off their dinner plates.

"I agree," Granny smiled wide at the younger man and placed her napkin from her lap onto the table, "There aren't many of you out there, Archie. Don't let those well learned lessons go. It will treat you well once you settle down."

"I don't think that I will," Archie shook his head with a bashful smile.

"Why? The world of forensic psychology just that intense?" Ruby asked and leaned over her chair with a teasing lift of her eyebrow.

"If you must know, I haven't found a woman that will put up with me," he said with a light shrug and threw her a look that told her that he knew she would bite.

"Imagine that," Ruby smirked again and picked up the rest of the soiled dinner ware.

"Ruby!" Granny swiped at her, but she danced just out of her reach, her skirt dancing behind her. Ruby's laughter could be heard all the way into the kitchen.

Granny looked back to Archie to apologize, but when she looked back his eyes were trained on Ruby and the path that she had taken. Her smile pulled at the sides of her face and she chuckled. Archie looked back at her with a bit of confusion.

"Ruby is a hard one to get to know," Granny said once he looked like he had come back to Earth.

"I've noticed," he nodded and his eyes flicked toward the kitchen, "She's guarded. I get a foot into her inner circle, but when she notices my progress I am thrown back five feet. I try to get closer, but I seem to hit a wall and she becomes defensive again."

"Believe it or not that is a good sign," Granny reached over and patted his hand, "That means that she cares enough to push you away."

"She's scared I will get hurt, isn't she?" he asked and thought back to the not so private discussion she had with Mary and Belle the night before.

"Sounds like it," Granny nodded and looked back at the direction of the kitchen before she leaned toward him, "She's lost a lot and blames herself for it. I think that she is tired of taking the weight of it all."

"She doesn't have to," Archie shook his head.

"I know that and you know that," Granny nodded and sadly looked down at her hands, "She doesn't want to believe it."

"I just wish that she would let me help her."

"Sometimes the best help comes from the place that you have asked no help from. A place that you said you don't want it from," Granny said with a wise smile, "Do you understand?"

"Well enough," Archie nodded.

"What are you two whispering about over here?" Ruby said and reached over to grab the last of the chicken.

"You dear," Granny said with a laugh, "Always about you."

"It's a bit embarrassing at times that all she can think or talk about is me," Ruby smiled and kissed Granny on the cheek.

"What else would I be talking about, dear?" Granny said back over her shoulder, "My knitting?"

"You are a ninja with those knitting needles, Gran," Ruby said as she walked into the kitchen. After a few moments of Archie thinking and Granny watching him closely, Ruby came back with no more plates or dishes to clear.

"The dishes are clean and it is getting late," Ruby leaned over one side of Granny's chair and hugged her around the shoulders. She looked over at Archie and gave him a small smile, "I think I will be heading home."

"Pongo and I will walk you," Archie said and stood up. He took Granny's hand and held it in both of his, "Thank you for a lovely dinner and the baking lesson I will not soon forget."

"You're welcome any time, my boy," she smiled and nodded to him, "I mean it. Anytime."

He whistled and Pongo lifted his head from the blankets. He stretched out his body, making Perdita wake up with a yawn. Pongo trotted to his master and let him put on the leash and then sat by him until he was ready to go. Ruby grabbed her bag and patted her leg for Perdita to come to her. Perdita did, but not before she rubbed her head against Granny's hand in a goodbye.

"Take care of her, Perdita," Granny smiled and the dog wagged her tail.

As they exited the home, the two partners walked next to one another as their dogs trotted beside one another further ahead.

"You walked here?" Ruby asked and watched the stars blink in the night sky.

"I don't live too far away," he answered and pointed down the direction that they were heading, "It's an apartment on Main. Good 'ol number 2B."

"2B or not 2B," she nodded with a chuckle, "How many of those have you heard since you've moved in?"

"Surprisingly, you are the first," he smiled.

"You have enough room for Pongo?"

"Dalmatians are excellent apartment dogs, believe it or not."

She nodded, but didn't say anything more. They walked in quiet for a little while longer. Ruby suddenly stopped and he looked back at her as she nodded to a single story home, "This is me."

"Oh," Archie deflated a little.

"Would you like to come in for some coffee?" she asked and fumbled with Perdita's leash.

"Not really my drink of choice," he rubbed the back of his neck. He shuffled his feet for a moment and then looked back up at her, "Ruby, look, I know you can take care of yourself. I know that you are strong and that you are probably one of the smartest women that I will ever meet."

"I feel a 'but' coming on…" Ruby said quietly.

"I just…" Archie took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, "Can you promise me something?"

"I can try, it really depends on what you're asking of me," she said truthfully.

"I don't want you to get angry or feel like I am trying to push you…" he gritted his teeth and pushed the question out, "I don't care if it takes a week or years. Can you please, just try to let me in?"

She frowned and looked down at the sidewalk, "Why is it so important to you that you _get_ in?"

"Because that woman that I saw tonight in the kitchen, the one when you let down your guard and let me just see who you really are…" he took a hold of one of her hands and she looked up at him in surprise. He chuckled sadly and tried to smile for her as he cupped her cheek in his other hand as the loop of Pongo's leash slid down his arm, "…that woman _glowed_. I just wish that you showed her more often. Ruby, you are beautiful most of the time, but that was the first time that I ever saw _you_. I have to say she is in the running for the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I really hope it wasn't the last time I get the privilege of seeing her."

Ruby smiled then. A genuine, glowing smile as she felt something tug within her, "You know, that is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me and you haven't even asked for my number?"

He chuckled along with her and ran a light hand from her cheek, through her hair and back to join its partner over her hand not holding Perdita's leash, "Well, if it makes it any less awkward, I already have your number."

She laughed louder at that and shook her head. She pushed some of her hair behind her ear and looked into his eyes. They were a different color blue than what she was used to on him. This was a darker blue- a blue that wasn't examining her, or trying to get her to tell him her secrets. It was an open invitation should she take it.

"You have to promise me something," Ruby poked at his chest.

"I will if I can," he nodded in all sincerity.

"Promise me you won't get hurt," Ruby said softly.

"Hurt?"

"Just… promise," she whispered.

"I promise that I will try my best to stay in one piece and be here should you need me," he said softly and squeezed her hand, "I can only do my best."

She gently slipped her hand from his, "That is why I can't let you in. As hard as I try, I lose people who get in. I don't let anyone get to that point, so I don't have to lose them. I refuse to lose another partner. I protect who I can, because that's _my_ best."

Archie's hands dropped and his brows furrowed in sadness and frustration. He took a deep breath in thought and then looked back up at Ruby with a small smile. She looked back at him confused since she did expect more of a fight from him. Instead he nodded.

"That's all I can ask for… is your best," he bowed his head at her before he turned from her and walked down the street. He quickly turned his head and added a, "Goodnight, Ruby."

"Goodnight, Archie," she said with the familiar feeling of regret build in her chest.

Ruby walked up the path to her front door and looked down the street to see that he stopped and watched her. She then realized that he was waiting until she was inside before he began to walk Pongo the rest of the way home.

Ruby watched from the small window next to her door as he walked down the street, hand in pocket and head tilted back to watch the stars as he walked. She imagined that the blue in his eyes were back to that calculating shade. Ruby put her head against the door and shook it sadly.

"Archie… you're better this way. Believe me," she said to the door, "I swear, if you… if I lose you too..."

Perdita whined and Ruby knelt to the floor in front of her dog, "Mommy's an idiot, Perdita."

Perdita licked her face and then looked toward the window as if Archie and Pongo would still be there.


	9. Chapter 8: Couples

**Chapter Eight**: Couples

The next couple of weeks seemed slow and quiet. There was no mention or squeak from 'The Heart Stealer' since Mal Ficent's death. So far, it seemed as if they were happy in the assumption that Mal had taken the fall for them. Maybe they had moved on, or just found that they didn't have the need to kill any longer. Thankfully, the media had not caught wind that the sheriff's department was aware that Mal wasn't the killer. Ruby had been fighting off Sydney Glass personally so that he didn't let the killer know through one of his articles that they knew she was still out there. The office didn't make any statements to the contrary and they were happy for the extra time to get things together.

Not to mention a certain detective was still trying to figure out her feelings and reactions to a certain forensic psychologist. At the moment, she was nose deep into her many files and tried to find correlations all on her own before her partner came in for work. She pushed one file away as she pulled another one closer with a frustrated push of air through her teeth- the more she tried to focus on the papers in front of her, the more her mind shifted to the man that still had yet to show up.

"What is taking him so long?" she asked herself and her mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario. She thought of him in his home, broken and beaten… or what if the killer used her poison on him too? What if they really knew what they were doing and was trying to take them out with a preemptive strike?

"Hey Red," Graham said from behind her and she jumped in her seat at her desk.

"Dammit, Graham!" she leaned back and hit the sheriff in the arm.

"Sorry, you weren't breathing," he chuckled, "You okay?"

"Just wondering where that shrink of ours is," she pointed to the clock, "He's late."

"He called a couple of minutes ago," Graham said as if she knew, "He said he couldn't get a hold of you and to tell you that he was running late."

"What?" Ruby dug into her bag and pulled out her phone which was dead, "Just great. Did he say why he was late?"

"Something to do with his dog," Graham shrugged, "We haven't gotten anything huge right now, so I told him to take his time. You and I could handle it if anything came up."

"Something's happened to Pongo?" Ruby's eyes flicked to the doors just in case he walked in and then to the phone on her desk. She quickly called Archie's cell phone and after a few rings she heard his voice on the other end.

"Doctor Hopper," he answered.

"Is Pongo okay?" Ruby said quickly and tried to shoo off Graham as he watched her with a dubious look.

"He's fine," Archie chuckled fondly at her concern, "He got his head stuck in the fence trying to chase a squirrel out of our fenced off patio. I just got him out; I will be in the office in a few."

"Okay," Ruby said with a relieved breath, "Do me a favor, partner. The next time my cell phone doesn't pick up, call my desk phone so I know that your ass isn't dying somewhere out there."

"You were worried about me," he said in a warm and slightly teasing tone.

"Yes, I was," she nodded and frowned at the phone while trying to fight a smile, "Get here soon."

"See you in a few, Ruby," he assured her and his side hung up.

She let out a long breath and suddenly found some clarity to read through the files and not just peruse over the words as if she understood. With a clearing of the throat from behind her she turned in her chair and saw that Graham never left.

"What?" Ruby asked and looked at the sheriff up and down.

"What's going on?" he asked with his arms crossed over his chest, "I thought that you were still dating Billy."

"I haven't been dating Billy for a month now," Ruby frowned and narrowed her eyes at him, "Besides, it's not like that."

"Not like that, huh?' Graham asked and pointed to the file in her hands, "I know from our study groups together when you are actually reading and just skimming. Just now was the first time that I have seen you actually _read_ that file all morning."

"You have no idea what you are talking about," Ruby shook her head and turned from him toward the board.

"I know exactly what I am talking about," Graham argued back and turned Ruby to face him, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You got the hots for the doctor!"

"Shh!" Ruby pushed her palm against his mouth and her eyes darted around the room and the office right outside the door. Luckily it looked like no one had heard. She gave Graham a warning look, "What is wrong with you? I do not have the hots for Archie."

"Deny it all you want," Graham chuckled as he pulled her hand away from him, "You have that same look on your face when you think about him as you do when you used to daydream."

"How do you know I am thinking about him?"

Graham gave her an amused face and continued, "I can see it and so can a couple of others around here. I just wonder if he does because he is just as oblivious with his own feelings about you."

"His feelings… really?" Ruby said in a sarcastic tone with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, like how he looks at you when you are deep in thought at the board and don't notice him. Or how he always takes care to make sure that you aren't being pushed by some of the boys down in the lab for a date. Or, you know how his face turns the color of his hair when your around or make those flirty comments?" he thought back over the last couple of weeks.

"I do that just to get a rise out of him."

"Looks like it's working," Graham said through a chuckle.

"Graham, don't try to be match maker," Ruby rubbed her temple and then shook her head, "He and I are partners. We are bonding. Be happy that I do not want to shoot his head off like I wanted to do the first day he showed up. You shouldn't even be talking about looks with how you look at poor Emma. You're going to scare her off."

"I doubt it," Graham smiled to himself.

"Uh huh," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"You aren't making life difficult for him, are you?" Graham asked.

"When isn't she?" Archie asked as he came in and set down his umbrella on the back of the chair as usual.

"Archie!" Ruby nearly yelled and made both of the guys jump, "Did you just come in?"

"Yeah, just walked in the door, why?" he asked with a concerned face and began to roll up his sleeves in preparation of their work ahead.

"No reason," Ruby shrugged it off and shot a looked at Graham when he snorted.

"You kids have fun," Graham shook his head and walked out of the office.

"What was that all about?" Archie asked and then turned to the board.

"Forget it, let's get this stuff done," she nodded to the board.

He looked at her for a moment, studied her face and then turned back to the board with a large sigh, "You're blocking me out again."

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, "I know. If it helps any what just happened with Graham had nothing to do with my past."

"Okay," he nodded and picked up a dry erase marker to begin a diagram between all the victims.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do they have in common?" he asked and poked at each picture, "I know you have tried to find connections. What are they?"

She smiled thankfully at him once he turned to her. Leave it to him to know when to drop it. The last two weeks since their dinner with Granny had been touch and go. He had asked her to let him in, to let him be a rock and a source of comfort for her in times where she needed to reach out. She threw it back in his face and vaguely added that she was doing it to protect him. Even in her own mind, she knew that it was a sad excuse to protect not him, but her. She shook her head, grabbed another marker and began to write down the parallels.

"There aren't many similarities," she shook her head and pointed to each victim, "You have the sick older gentleman Henry Mills Senior, Trish Dame, a prostitute who looked like she was trying to climb the ladder through some blackmail and dancing on the side, and Stealthy who just got too deep into the investigation and still couldn't bring anything to the table."

"He probably didn't have time to write it down," Archie sighed and looked at the small list that Ruby wrote down.

"You know what might actually help us with this?"

"I am all ears," Archie knew that she had an idea brewing in her mind.

"If we can ask and dissect the mind of a known killer," Ruby smiled to herself and looked over at Archie with a raised brow. He seemed more than slightly disturbed at the idea.

* * *

"You sure that this is such a good idea?" Archie asked for the tenth time as they walked up the sidewalk to a rather large Victorian home.

"I know he and I don't see eye to eye," Ruby started to explain.

"That's how people describe 'unadulterated hatred' now, huh?" Archie asked and Ruby shot him a warning look. He held up his hands as if to ask her to continue.

"I know that he killed out of passion, or what have you," Ruby walked to the door and rang the doorbell, "But I really think that we could learn something about our killer if we dive a little deeper into Gold. He is a pretty vicious guy."

The door opened quickly and both Ruby and Archie's eyes bulged when they found Belle in a bright blue apron on the other side of the door. She smiled sheepishly and looked at her boss and friend. Archie stayed pretty speechless while Ruby gave her a smirk that screamed 'I told you so' and crossed her arms.

"Is Mister Gold in?" Ruby asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Belle blushed and looked at both of them before she waved them in, "We're making cupcakes.

"Wha- cupcakes?" Ruby asked and she heard a small laugh coming from Archie who had since recovered from the shock of seeing his assistant in Gold's home.

"Yeah, he's vicious," Archie whispered to her.

"Don't let the domestics fool you, Doctor," Gold said in a smooth voice as he pulled out the hot pan with brand new cupcakes, a dark burgundy half apron over his slacks, "I am very much still the dangerous man that the detective seems to loathe."

He waved a dish towel over the cupcake tin to cool the baked goods and pulled Belle in for a hug. He kissed her on her temple and she blushed from the attention in front of her two friends. Not many knew about their affection for one another and even fewer saw how much Gold did shower upon the little book keeper. Gold looked back over at the two with a large smile and his eyes flicked from one to the other.

"Rest assured I have done nothing to ensure another incarceration, Doctor Hopper," Gold said, "I have kept my word."

"So far," Ruby muttered.

"What or who do I get to thank for the wonderful visit from the rising stars of Storybrooke's Sheriff's Department?" Gold asked as he let go of Belle and began to carefully pull out the cupcakes from the tin.

"We need some insight," Ruby said simply, "Into what this thing may be thinking."

"The Heart Stealer? I thought that it was dear Prosecutor Ficent that was the culprit," he said before he hissed as one of the cupcakes burnt the tip of his fingers.

"No, the evidence used against her was planted," Ruby sighed and shook her head, "But we are still pretty sure that it is a woman."

"Not many powerful women left in this community, Detective," Gold raised his brows, "Maybe you should start from the top and work your way down. Unless the ones above are a little too overwhelming for you."

"Why I-" Ruby growled and stepped forward.

"Mister Gold," Archie interrupted and put himself between Ruby and Gold before his partner got carried away, "The killings _will _start again. A serial killer doesn't just stop unless they die, become incapacitated or they are incarcerated. Unless you are sure that the murders are not random, anyone could be a target. Seeing as it is probably someone in power, they wouldn't want the competition, would they? You could be a target… or someone close to you."

Gold's eyes flicked to Belle who looked up at him at the same time. He breathed deep and looked back at Archie, "All right. What would you like to know?"

"We are pretty sure that it is a woman because of the poison aspect, but we are at a loss of reasoning for her killing all the victims."

"Her motive, you mean?" Gold asked and pulled away from the counter to toss off his apron.

"Yes, her motive," Ruby nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I think that it should be pretty clear," Gold mirrored her movements and stared her in the eye, "Poison is intimate. You use it with those close to you until you get more acquainted with it. Then there are the hearts that were never recovered. Her trophies, I am guessing."

"That what we were thinking, yes," Ruby nodded, but didn't waver from his stare.

He smirked at her tenaciousness and turned away to walk over to the nearest window, "This all points to one thing, I believe. It has to do with something about their own heart. Wouldn't you agree, Hopper?"

Archie thought to himself and did a small hum that told Ruby he was on to something. Tapping his finger along something wouldn't be too far off.

"It's an interesting line of thought to be sure," Archie nodded and looked at the ceiling as he slowly paced in a tight circle, "If it had to do with their heart, it is something very close to them. Something had to be a stressor to make them act out this viciously; otherwise I believe that they would have just kept to themselves. Then there is the question of who their actual target is or was."

"You're talking about revenge," Ruby said simply and looked from between Archie and Gold, "For what and against who?"

"That's why you're the detective," Gold said and leaned on the window frame, "I only can give you my musings. In case you have forgotten, I've only killed once and my 'motive' was pretty self explanatory."

"So was the scene," Ruby added and ran a hand through her hair as she turned back to Archie, "Your brain hurt yet?"

"It's going to get there later today, I can guarantee you," he nodded.

"Well, not that it hasn't been pleasant," Gold said and stepped away from the window to address the two of them in the room, "I want to continue my relaxing day off in the presence of a beauty."

Belle looked at him sternly and then turned to Ruby and Archie, "Do you think that will help at all?"

"It's something to think over," Archie said and nodded to Belle. He walked next to Ruby and gently grabbed her arm, "We will show ourselves out. Thank you, Mister Gold. Sorry to interrupt."

He pulled Ruby out the door with little fight from her.

"What are you thinking?" Ruby asked as he let go of her arm and headed toward her mustang.

"What makes you think I have anything?" he asked.

"You wouldn't leave that quickly if you didn't," she said decidedly and ran over to the driver's side of the car, "Get in. I want to get back to the board as soon as possible. You aren't the only one with ideas."

* * *

Once back at the office the two of them walked quickly to the board. Ruby set her jacket down and looked up to find Archie already drawing out diagrams and notes across the surface. He would begin to tap, but then write more before he got too far. Ruby stood next to him and began to write her own notes and connect them to the notes that they already had. Hours were poured over the diagrams and new connections, but nothing that jumped out at them. Archie turned from the board and looked at Ruby next to him.

"This is a small town," he said and looked between her and the board, "What could the stressor be? It has to be big and it has to be personal."

"With a town this small, everything is big and personal," she huffed and shook her head as her eyes stayed glued to the board, "It's been a while since they have killed again. Do you think that she finally got her intended victim?"

"Stealthy was the last victim," Archie nodded to his face, "Who did he upset?"

"He upset a lot of people, but technically, he wasn't the last victim," Ruby shook her head and drew a line from Stealthy to the out of place picture of Mal, "Mal was. She was killed by her own doing, but only did so as she saw no other way out. What if she was the one they were after?"

"We need to get a list going," he nodded and thought back, "Did the lab find anything with the recorded voice?"

"Couldn't break through the distorter," she shook her head.

"That was our best lead."

"Let me grab a few of Mal's case logs," Ruby nodded and turned from the board.

She walked to her desk and began to shuffle through the papers. She glanced up as she noticed movement in the other room. There in the other room Graham and Emma were standing close together and whispering to one another. The smile that lit up the usually stoic face of Emma was easily recognizable. She was in love with the sheriff and if that boyish grin was any indication, the feelings were returned. Graham looped his arms around Emma's waist as she looked around the otherwise empty room for any stray officers. He whispered into her ear and she visibly relaxed.

Ruby's face fell just a little as they leaned toward one another for a sweet kiss. A sad smile lingered on her lips as she felt a mix of emotions rush through her. She was happy for Graham, she really was. He was like a brother to her and she knew that it was about time that he had someone. Through her happiness she felt the bitter sting of once before being in that same situation.

The two people in front of her turned into versions of a younger her and a young man- wrapped in one another's arms with bright smiles and whispered assurances. The boy promised to be with her forever and protect her from all the monsters that dared to haunt her. Ruby felt a single tear fall down her cheek and she took a deep, ragged breath in.

Archie didn't hear the shuffling of papers and looked from the board to Ruby who seemed to be frozen in time while she looked at something in the other room. He capped the pen and walked around to see Graham and Emma in one another's embrace. His eyes snapped away from the scene to give the couple some privacy and turned instead toward Ruby. He felt a jolt to his system as he saw the tear that tumbled down her cheek and her ragged breath. At first, he thought that maybe she had feelings for the sheriff, but he never got that sense from them. Then he heard her whisper a faint name and he furrowed his brow.

"Ruby?" Archie reached out for her hand and gripped it gently, but firmly in one of his.

She jumped in surprise of the touch and pulled her hand immediately from his. She shook her head and rubbed at her face and eyes to make all the tears disappear. It was too late since Archie would never be able to forget that face.

"I'm fine," Ruby said and turned from him and back to the files.

Archie frowned and shook his head. He took a deep breath and clenched his teeth as the feeling of anger began to bubble in his stomach. He didn't feel it too often, but when it reared its head he was never more passionate. He slammed his hands down on the desktop and stopped her from looking through the papers. She took a breath and looked at him through hurt eyes.

"You are not fine," he whispered to her as they faced off, "I wish you would stop saying that you are."

"What do you want me to say?" she growled back and pushed from the desk.

"Anything," he stepped around the desk to walk in front of her again, "Tell me you're sad. Say that you want to scream. For God's sake, Ruby- scream if it helps! It definitely won't to keep it all inside and suffer alone!"

"I can handle it," she turned from him and began to pace the room just so he didn't have the opportunity to catch her eyes, "It was nothing. I am fine."

"But you aren't!" Archie bellowed and grabbed both of her arms to turn her toward him, "Ruby… _please_."

"I am asking you… leave it," Ruby bit out and stared up into his eyes, "Let it go."

Archie looked down into her eyes as more tears seemed to sprout in the light green orbs in front of him. He frowned and only loosened his grip slightly so he was sure he wasn't hurting her. With an intake of sudden courage he kept his eyes on hers, "Who's Peter?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Who told you about him?"

"You just whispered his name," he said with a nod toward the desk.

Ruby closed her eyes with the shake of her head. She threw her arms out and pushed Archie from her. She grabbed her jacket and threw it on.

"You're just going to run again?" Archie asked as he regained his balance.

"You have _no _right," Ruby turned to him and pointed into his face, "No right, Hopper! I told you the first day we started working together. No assuming and no profiling. Stay away and stay out."

Archie stood his ground and looked slightly disappointed. With a small shake of his head he looked down at the furious woman, "I can't."

"Can't what?" she growled out.

"I can't stay away," he shook his head, "I care about you, Ruby. I want… I want you to be happy."

Ruby's anger melted a bit from her face, but she turned away before she broke under his concern. She grabbed a small pad of notes that she had made and walked toward the door without a word.

"Ruby," Archie called out to her, but her purposeful stride did not stop, didn't even falter. He took a few steps toward her and tried again before she was out of the building, "Ruby!"

Ruby burst the front doors open and jogged to her car where she got in and drove off as quickly as she could. Archie held the door frame that led to their office and looked around the room where both Emma and Graham looked surprised and confused. Graham touched Emma's arm and whispered something to her. She nodded, walked over to her jacket and bag and left quietly.

"What happened?" Graham asked as he approached Archie.

Archie looked at Graham and frowned, "Who's Peter?"

Graham sighed out and closed his eyes. He pinched the ridge of his nose and opened them to look at the ceiling, "That's a very sad and long story."

"I want to hear it," Archie nodded.

"Not from me," Graham shook his head. He patted the other man on the back and gave him a sad smile, "I know you are trying to help her, but she doesn't talk about him. No one does. Let her cool down and she'll come back."

Archie sighed heavily and looked at the other man, "I just… that pain that she had on her face…"

"I know," Graham nodded and patted his back again, "Come on. Let's get you home. I don't think any of us are going to get work done tonight."


	10. Chapter 9: Going Back

**Chapter Nine**: Going Back

The night was a bit chilly and the Maine fog was rolling into town. The streets were cold and many people decided to stay in for the night. Ruby jogged down the sidewalk with Perdita on her leash and her red sweat jacket's hood over her head. It helped them both to jog; Ruby to vent her frustrations and Perdita to get out of the house and take in some fresh air. She slowed down their pace as they reached the downtown area of Storybrooke. It wasn't filled with violence or gang dealings, but it wasn't the best place to be at night either. The surrounding buildings were all warehouses or small businesses. Perdita's ears immediately went up as she began to hear and take in the noises around them.

"It's okay, Perdi," Ruby said and patted her dog's head to calm her, "No one would want to miss with me right now anyway. Not unless they want to have a new hole torn in their body."

The woman and dog walked along back toward the way they had come from. It was getting late and Ruby really needed to get her head on straight to face Archie tomorrow. She had never seen him that angry before. This in turn, only made her angrier. Who was he to say that she needed to let it out? She had done just fine so far.

"Ruby?" a voice called from the side of one of the buildings.

Ruby turned her attention to the voice and caught sight of a man in dark clothing and a rugged five o clock shadow. She narrowed her eyes and heard Perdita start to growl at him.

"Quinn," Ruby nodded at him and began to walk away, "You know I don't want to talk to you."

"Ruby, please," he jogged to catch up with her and walked on the other side from her dog since the animal eyed him cautiously.

"I told you the last time that I saw you, I didn't want anything to do with you," she turned at him and Perdita barked in his direction, "Now leave me alone."

"I know, I know," he put out his arms as if to calm her down, "But… look, I've fallen on some hard times and I was wondering if you could help me out. I tried to call you, but the number I have is disconnected. It doesn't go through to a phone anymore."

"Anymore? I haven't had that phone since I was _nineteen_, Quinn," she said in a groan, "You are always on hard times. Was back then and looks like even more so now."

"That wasn't just me, Ruby," he reminded her, "You never had a hard time in helping her out when she needed it. You gave her half your paychecks so that she could keep feeding herself, among other things."

"Well, the hard times for her are more than over," Ruby reminded him and pulled at Perdita to have her walk with her.

"Whose fault is that?" Quinn said from his spot on the sidewalk.

Ruby paused as her mind flashed back to a day long ago. Her own voice, much younger and less experienced screamed in her mind, '_I never want to see you again! You are a slut and a lush! I was lucky that Granny took me in; took me away from a boozer like you. I am going to be better than that. Better than you!'_

Ruby shook her head and turned back to him, "You are really going to play that card?"

"You are just as to blame as she is," he pointed at her and then grabbed at his sweatshirt, "I loved her, you know. She was the best thing in my life."

"She wasn't healthy, Quinn. She wasn't good for anyone."

"You didn't say that when you would drink with her," he jabbed his finger at her again, "You and her would drink each other under the table and you didn't say a damn thing! You would go along with it because it was time with her. It was time with your _mother_!"

"She died because of the alcohol!" Ruby yelled back at him, "I was a kid- a teenager! I shouldn't have even touched the stuff. She wanted me to be just like her and I almost became just that- an alcoholic and a lush. I found a way to break free of its hold only after I lost someone. She never did find her way out- was never able to break free. You seem like you haven't moved on from it either. How many more is this _curse_ going to kill, huh?"

"So you blame the booze now?" he asked in a quiet voice and eyed her, "You don't think that you had some part of her death too? You were the last one to see her alive."

"I will live with what I have done," she growled and held Perdita's leash tight in her grasp, "But that's the thing. I am going to live. You're still killing yourself."

He gritted his teeth and set his jaw, "You're still a lot like her, Ruby. The same nose, the same cheek bones… the same spirit: defiant and stubborn. You don't talk either. She never liked to talk- a lot of action with no voice. That's you too. You are going to be just like her."

Both of them looked at one another for a long moment, Perdita still growling at Ruby's side. Ruby felt the tickle in the back of her throat and she shook her head quickly. She wouldn't give in to that- wouldn't give him the satisfaction to see her cry.

"I am walking away now," she said in a stronger voice than what she felt, "Don't ever talk to me again."

Quinn stood motionless in his spot and after watching Ruby turn the corner, he turned back into the alleyway to go back to his crummy apartment. He was so focused on his anger and where he was going to get his next bottle that he didn't see the shadows of the alley move to follow him.

* * *

The table top lamp glowed dimly over his desk as he went over what files he had brought home with him. It didn't help any since he couldn't focus well enough to read them. His cell phone lay to the side as he stared at it and begged it to vibrate or ring. He knew that if he tried to contact her, she would only shut her phone off. He sighed again and got out from behind his desk and began to pace. Pongo lay over his bed in the corner and watched his owner's actions.

"I can't concentrate…" Archie frowned and shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair and then tugged the top button on his shirt undone. He felt like he was suffocating with worry. Her face was so… _devastated_. What did this man do to her? What had happened to them? Who was Peter?

He walked over to his window and crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to look up at the stars. They always had a way of calming him. Unfortunately, the Maine fog had ruined his view of them for the night. Even the supposed full moon was blocked by the heavy fog banks, making the night just that much darker. Just outside his window was the tree line and he could hear the crickets chirp to one another through the foggy banks. He closed his eyes and just listened to the quiet song of the crickets to see if it would clear his mind.

It had the opposite effect then what he was hoping.

Behind his eyelids, his mind brought the picture of Ruby to the forefront. Not just the woman who he worked with and got along with most of the time; the frustrating detective who would rather throw caution to the wind than to let the case fall. Not the woman who he ran into at the park while walking their dogs. No, he saw the woman covered with pie mixture, her apron tucked securely around her summer dress. The skirt ruffled around her legs as she jumped and danced away from him as they fought with one another with the fruit filling and pie crust dough. He saw her smile and the light shine from within her eyes. He saw the beautiful woman that she was and always would be.

She was stubborn and brilliant; a fierce fighter and a passionate woman. He knew that when she chose to feel, it was with her whole being. When she played she was the most flirty and fun personality that he has ever seen. When she worked she had the determination ten times that of most of the detectives that he has worked with in the past. She never let anyone in because she feels that is the only way to protect not only them, but herself. She was a beautiful disaster of a woman.

The vision suddenly fell and he saw the picture of her distressed face from earlier that night. Such raw sadness and loss that he could only guess was from the man she had mentioned. He slowly opened his eyes and looked out the window. He never wanted her to look like that again and a surge of protectiveness bloomed in his chest. He would do anything in his power to make sure that she never did.

He thought back to earlier in the station when he grew angry with her. It wasn't that she wasn't sharing with him; it was that she was hurting herself by not sharing at all. No one was allowed to hurt her, not even herself. As much as he detested guns, he was sure that if he knew she was in trouble that would be reason enough to grab one, strap it on and go into battle. Violence is never the answer, but he would do it if it meant her safety.

A warm feeling in his chest merged with the protectiveness and made him take a quick breath. He never felt that before and it was a little alarming at first. As he reviewed his thoughts, the flash of Ruby's sincere smile always brought the feeling back and he realized with a start that it may not just be that he cares for her… he may**_ love_** her.

"Oh Archie-boy," he whispered to himself and shook his head at his faded reflection in the glass of the window, "What have you gotten yourself into now?"

A loud knock at his door catapulted him from his thoughts. He shook his head and pulled away from the window and to the door. Pongo followed at his heels, his tail wagging all along always happy to meet guests at the door. Archie took another swipe of his hand through his hair to tame it as well as he could before he opened the door. Before him was the biggest surprise that he could barely comprehend.

"Ruby?"

Ruby stood with Perdita still on leash and her sweat suit on. She had her eyes focused on the ground and her lip was quivering though he saw that she was trying desperately to make it stop. Her hair was hanging on either side of her face and made a curtain that he couldn't see through. Then with a slight breath her face moved under the light of his porch light and he saw the tear tracks down either side of her face. His heart constricted with pain and the over bearing protectiveness once again.

"Oh Ruby… what happened?" he asked and reached out to her. He held his hand in front of her and waited for her to take it. He wouldn't push her, not in this state.

"I- I didn't know- who else to- go to," she choked on her words, her voice hoarse.

"You can always come here," he assured her and pushed his hand out a little forward again to make sure that it was in her line of sight.

"You- you were mad at me," she said, still unsure about taking the hand.

"I'm sorry, I was frustrated," he apologized softly, "I should have known better by now. Forgive me?"

Ruby slowly picked up her hand and took Archie's gently at first, but then gripped it like a life line once his fingers wrapped around hers. She looked up and let out another sob as her eyes connected with his. He furrowed his brows in worry and pulled at her arm now connected with his.

"Come in," he asked softly and she walked into his apartment, Perdita following closely flanked by Pongo. Even when she was upset, she had the frame of mind to take Perdita off the leash. The usually energetic dog stayed close by her mistress as she knew she was upset. Archie set her down on the couch and handed her a box of tissues that he had handy, "I am going to make you some tea. It always helps me to calm down."

She nodded and he squeezed her hand before he left the couch. He kept in sight from the half wall of the kitchen and kept a close eye on her. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks despite the help of the tissues and Peridta sat at Ruby's feet, her head in lap. Ruby saw the woven blanket over the back of his couch and took it without thought. She tossed it over her shoulders and kept it tight over her arms. She turned her face into the fabric and took a large inhale as if trying to place the scent, or trying to memorize it.

Archie set the teapot over the heat and walked quickly back over to her with a cup of water. He put the glass down on the small table in front of them and took his seat next to her. He was very careful not to touch her. If she wanted contact, she would be the first to move. This was the first time she came to him and he would not endanger that trust in him.

"I didn't think that it would bother me this much," she said, her voice still hoarse from her fight with her own emotions on her walk to his apartment. She took a long gulp of the water and a deep breath to center herself, "I didn't even know how I got here. I was walking home… and the water works started… and- and I just didn't want to be alone. I didn't want Granny over my shoulder reassuring me again. I just-"

She finally looked back up at him and tugged at his blanket around her, "You have never lied to me. I think I need that now more than ever."

Archie looked her over and nodded. He took a tissue from the box and leaned forward slowly to dry the tears from her cheeks. She closed her eyes at his slight touch, but let him wipe her tears away. After he was done, she opened her eyes again.

"What happened after you left the station?" he asked and sat back just a little.

"I went home and got Perdita. I needed to go for a jog," she explained and he heard her regular voice begin to come through, "I was mad at you and myself and I needed to get out. Jogging was always a great stress reliever for me."

"I seem to get you mad a lot," he murmured and it made her laugh under her breath; at which he smiled. He loved her laugh even if it was suppressed.

"Take it as a compliment and a badge of honor since I haven't shot you," she smiled back at him.

The tea pot started to scream and Archie quickly went into the kitchen, retrieved the tea and brought it back out for the both of them. She nodded in thanks and sipped at the drink before she held it a little ways from her mouth, surprised at the flavor. She narrowed her eyes at the cup and then looked at him as he sipped from his own cup.

"Passion fruit?" she asked.

"It's my favorite," he nodded with an embarrassed smile and put his cup down. He looked at her and raised his brows as if to tell her to continue.

She sighed and nodded, "You know how hard this is going to be for me."

"Like pulling teeth," he nodded and leaned back, "Just so you know, I won't press you anymore. You tell me what you need and want to. If what you need is just someone here with you, I can do that. I don't want to push you away, Ruby. If anything, I want you closer."

"Archie…" she smiled and shook her head, "I don't want to push you away either, but I'm scared. Really scared."

"Why?"

"Because, believe it or not, you have been the best thing that has come my way in a very long time," she confessed and reached out to take his hand. She held it in between her own and looked at it as if she was studying it before she continued, "But you make me vulnerable. That killer out there doesn't scare me. What scares me is that you may get hurt and it would be because of me. It used to be that I could die tomorrow and I would be okay with that as long as I knew that everyone else was okay. Now, I can't help wondering how that would affect you. Who would make sure you don't get yourself shot?"

They both chuckled a little at that.

"I really don't want to be scared anymore," she said and ran a thumb over the top of his hand. She finally looked up at him and let out a breath she was holding, "I know that I can't keep you safe. Not forever. But I know for sure that if I don't tell you about me- all of me- I am going to lose you in a whole different way. A way that she lost everyone. I-I don't- I refuse to be her."

"Her?" he asked after she trailed off, but stopped himself before he asked too much, "I can't promise that I won't get hurt in the long run. I _can_ promise that you will never lose me."

She gasped at the promise and shook her head, "How can you promise that?"

"You're not the only one who's stubborn, Ruby," he said with a soft smirk.

"You can say that again," she muttered with her own smirk.

He looked at their joined hands and he took his own breath, "So, tell me what happened."

Ruby closed her eyes and thought back to the events of the night. She thought about Quinn and what he had said. She thought about her mother and the last night that they had. She thought about Peter and how he had been a part of both disasters. With a pop of her eyes she looked into Archie's blue ones and began her story.


	11. Chapter 10: Monster Within

**Chapter Ten**: Monster Within

"When I was old enough to know better, but still young enough to challenge everything, I was a rebel," she said with a slight smile and though she saw his own mouth grow into a knowing smile, he kept it shut and let her go on without interruption, "Thanks to the overwhelming support of my mother, I had been drinking and partying since I was in my early teens. I guess, when I hit puberty it meant that I also should hit the bottle. My mother was an alcoholic, a bad one at that, and she wanted a drinking buddy since most of her boyfriends had a tendency to leave her; just like dad. She had me addicted to the stuff, tried to get me to be just like her. I did it mostly because it was finally something that my mother and I had in common. Granny didn't like it since she could smell it on my clothes every night when I came home and saw my grades start to plummet."

Archie made the connection on the 'her' that Ruby was talking about earlier.

"You didn't live with your mother?" Archie asked attentively.

"No," Ruby nearly chuckled at the notion, "She lost me in a custody battle with Granny when I was five. Dad left mom and me to fend for ourselves when their marriage fell apart. Mom started to hit the bottle too much and dad didn't care enough to stop her. I spent a great childhood with Granny. She and I got along well and I was a well adjusted kid- until I began to enter my teen years. I became rebellious toward Granny, my authority figure, and tried to get to know my mom better. The only time she really wanted to talk was while we were both drinking- that way neither one of us would remember what we had talked about the night before. Mary saw me falling apart and tried to help, but even she couldn't really talk me out of spending time with my mother. She lost her own mother when she was younger and understood to a point that any time with your mother is still time well spent. How wrong we both were…

"I was sixteen… when I met Peter," she slowed down and looked up at Archie again. He calmly sipped at his tea with the hand she didn't have in a tight grip, but still hung on her every word. She cleared her throat and continued, "Peter was the bad boy to my rebellious outcry. He would climb through my window at night to pull me out to the latest party with his friends. He would wear the leather jacket and drive the fast, fierce car. He… he, uh, would hold me at night when I had enough of Granny and my mom. He called me the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. As much as he was the bad boy, he was also my closest friend and my first love. We were together for two years."

"I am guessing Granny didn't like him much."

"Not at all," Ruby shook her head with a sad smile, "Peter was always a gentleman to Gran, even though she knew what trouble he got me into. Took me _weeks_ to get her to invite him to dinner- and when she did, she scowled at him the whole time… She always told me that he would only drag me down. I didn't care though. I loved him and that was enough for me. For both of us. He told me that he didn't mind the scowls because Granny was just trying to take care of me. Anyone who did that was great in his book.

"Do you know when I knew that he loved me back?"

Archie shook his head.

"When he asked me to stop drinking so much with my mom," she said with a brighter smile, though her eyes were starting to water again, "He told me that I was starting to act like her. That he knew I was stronger than she ever was or would be and that if I didn't stop drinking now, I might never do so. I wish I had listened…"

She fell silent and he watched her eyes fade a little and he knew that she was getting lost somewhere dark. Somewhere she had been trying so hard to run away from. This is what she was scared of happening if she chose to share with anyone. If she was going to fall into a dark place, he was sure to be there with her.

"Ruby," he whispered and scooted forward on the couch to cup her cheek with his free hand. He tipped her face up to look into her eyes and for her to reconnect with him, "Ruby… you aren't there anymore. You aren't who that young woman was. You are stronger and you need to come back."

Ruby's eyes lit up at little at his words and she took a shaky breath before she nodded. She gently took his hand from her face and held both of his in her own, "One night, just before prom, Peter and I knew about a party. He didn't want to go, but I knew that it was a big one and we never miss the big ones. At school I was the loner outcast- with the exception of Mary, but with him and his friends, I was like a duchess, or something. I talked him into going and he reluctantly snuck me out of my room and into his car down the street. We went to the party and ripped it up as usual. Then… then Peter got behind the wheel of his car more than a little intoxicated."

Archie watched her carefully and her hands clenched in his. His hands gently squeezed hers to add comfort and she nodded at him.

"I was more than drunk and he knew that if we drove the main roads, we would get pulled over. Instead, we chose to use the back roads near the toll bridge. It was a longer way, but more secluded and less patrolled. As we were near the forest line, I saw something on the side of the road. It was this large, beautiful wolf that had crossed into the street. I screamed out for Peter to watch out. He didn't correct his heading; he even looked like he was heading for it. I didn't want to hit it, so I panicked. I grabbed the wheel from Peter and over corrected the turn. We swerved and hit a tree….

"Peter… Peter died on impact. His airbag didn't deploy and the windshield shards cut into his chest. I was thrown from the car, miraculously; I only sprained a wrist, got a hit to the head and walked away from the crash with minor cuts and bruises. When I woke up, I heard the sirens approaching," she paused again and furrowed her brows as her memory always seemed fuzzy around the next part, "I got off the ground and hobbled toward the car. Peter was still in the driver's seat. Not moving, not breathing… He only looked straight out the windshield that was no longer there and up at the full moon with empty eyes. I looked behind the car at our swerve marks and saw that despite my actions, we still hit the wolf. Then there was movement in the bushes and I walked over to find a small pup- no more than a couple of weeks old. The wolf was her mom and was trying to find a new place for her pup to be safe…"

One of Ruby's hands let go of his to rub over Perdita's head quickly before she brought it back to where it was comfortably in his. Perdita whined a little, but wagged her tail slowly as her mistress looked down at her. It made Ruby smile a little.

"Perdita is the pup," Archie nodded in understanding.

"Yeah," she nodded, "She's the only light that came from that night. I picked her up from the bushes, wrapped her up in my jacket and cried. I cried because I just lost the love of my life. I cried because I knew that my life was never going to be the same… I cried because I died that night too. The wild child Ruby died in that accident with Peter. That was the night that I stopped drinking. Even then, she popped her head out from my jacket and licked at my hand as she whimpered in confusion. I promised her that I would take care of her. Perdita is my reason and my reminder to never taste another drop. Her name means 'lost'. I named her that because that night was the night that we were both found."

Perdita whined from Ruby's lap and Ruby rubbed her nose with her dog's when Peridta looked up at her. Perdita wagged her tail slowly and walked away to lay down on Pongo's bed with the dalmatian. Pongo didn't seem to mind and laid his head over Perdita's back as if he was comforting her as much as his master was comforting Ruby.

"I wondered about that," Archie admitted and smiled softly at her, "No matter how frustrated you were, you never went to alcohol to unwind. Most people would use a night cap from what I see, but you went to coffee, which never helps to unwind by the way."

"Yeah, I guess it's my new addiction," she shrugged unsure if she wanted to look back in his eyes, "You asked me who Peter was. _That_ was Peter."

"You blame yourself for his death," Archie nodded.

"Not only his," she shook her head and continued with her talk, "A few days after the accident, I couldn't take any more of Gran's coddling. I went over to my mother's place to see if she could give me anything more than just 'it isn't your fault'. She had many men leave her, given not in the same way, but she may have had more insight on how to get through it.

"She was drunk, yet again at three in the afternoon. After I told her what had happened, she began to spout off about how she never liked 'the boy' and that I deserved better. Now that the trash was out of the way, I could do so. I erupted… no one talked about Peter like that. I yelled at her, called her a slut and a boozer. She told me to calm down and take a drink. I was eighteen and according to her, it was the time in my life to have fun. Drinking was not the answer. Not anymore. Not when it took Peter away from me and I told her as much. She told me then that it wasn't the drink that took Peter. It was me. That _I_ wanted to go to the party and that _I_ wanted to drink. It was true…"

"Ruby-"

"Don't interrupt," she said shortly and he quickly shut his mouth from her tone. When she knew that he wouldn't say another word until she was done, she continued, "I took the beer she had in her hand and threw it across the room. It shattered against the wall and splattered the floor with the remaining splashes of beer. She then stood up, enraged that I would touch her precious alcohol and punched me in the face. That one bottle meant more to her than me or my pain did- more than anyone would. My father knew that wouldn't change. That's why he left.

"I stood up and told her that I never wanted to see her again. I told her that I never wanted to be her and that I was lucky that Gran took me away from a boozer and a drunk. She would never amount to anything and I would. I promised her that I would be better than her… That I would beat the hold of alcohol and that she would die alone, just like dad had told her the day he left.

"The next morning I woke up to Granny coming into my room. Perdita was curled against my chest, sound asleep. Granny sat on the side of my bed and woke me up with a hand on my shoulder," Ruby paused and pursed her lips, unsure if she could let the words pass over them.

Archie saw her struggle and let go of her hands. She quickly opened her eyes, scared that he was going to pull away. Instead, he scooted in right next to her and grabbed her in a hug. He held her against him and put a hand over her hair and the other around her back. The one on her back began to rub circles in a soothing gesture and he whispered into her hair, "I hope this is okay."

She nodded as she curled her arms between the two of them. She closed her eyes and leaned against his chest, his heartbeat strong against her ear. She cleared her throat, "Granny told me that my mother had died the night before. It was alcohol poisoning. She drank herself to death. I blame myself. I knew she drank more that night because of what I had said. I locked myself away for a long time in my room. If it wasn't for Mary and Perdita, I probably would not have come back out."

Archie breathed deep and pursed his lips in her hair as if placing a soft kiss in the strands. He hugged her tight for a moment and then began to rock her a little on the couch. She let him and felt the pain of the past, still so fresh, start to melt in the welcomed comfort of the present. His arms were strong and warm around her as if she was surrounded by the warmth of her- and it looked like his- favorite tea. She smelt the scents of old herbs, oak wood and old fashioned cologne mixed into his clothes and she couldn't find a better scent in her recent memories.

"So…" she whispered into his chest and tried to look up at him from under his chin, "What's the verdict?"

"Verdict?" he asked and leaned back to look down at her.

"How crazy am I?" she asked, "When are you asking for the transfer to get away from the crazy woman who killed her boyfriend and mother?"

He frowned at her description and looked at her hard, "You came here for the truth, right?"

She nodded simply.

"You trust me to give it to you? To be brutally honest?"

Another nod.

"Then I have to tell you," Archie paused and kept her eyes locked with his own, "You didn't kill either one of them."

"Archi-"

"No, it's your turn to listen," he put a finger to her lips and shook his head before he continued. She was surprised by his forceful voice and nodded, "You loved them both. Even your mother who, I agree, had many problems of her own. Alcohol did kill them both. Unfortunately, you were there when they both happened. Peter chose to drive under the influence. _That_ was **his** choice- not yours."

"The party, on the other hand-"

"There would be other parties, Ruby," he reminded her, "How many more would it have taken where he got behind the wheel drunk and killed you both?"

She stopped and looked away for a second in thought before he brought her attention back to him.

"Your mother was well on her way to liver failure and possible mental disease already kicking in. She didn't want help and if that conversation with you didn't wake her up to the danger she was putting herself and others in, she would have still killed herself down the line," Archie continued and sighed as he pushed some of her hair from her face, "I know you don't see it this way, but you were lucky…. You made the choice to step away from an addiction. Under your own free will to boot. You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. I just wish you would see what I see."

Ruby paused and looked into Archie's eyes. She checked to see if he was lying or buttering her up. He kept his eyes open and hoped that she saw the truth and belief he felt. He tried to push those feelings to the front, to make her feel them too. She studied the color of his eyes and found that same color that she saw the night of the dinner. That invitation still there- still open for her and she realized that it always would be.

"I wish I could see it too," she whispered in a genuine want and laid back against his chest. His arms wrapped back around her comfortably as her own wrapped around his waist and back. She felt him place his chin on top of her head and she hugged him closer, "Archie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think that makes me a monster?"

"What makes you a monster?" he asked with another frown.

"What I had done," she whispered, "…the way I feel about it."

"No, you're not a monster," he shook his head, "You're the heroine."

She smiled at that and chuckled disbelievingly at it. She felt him shift gears and could picture the serious nature of his face.

"I'm serious. You have been fighting monsters for years now. Monsters like Albert Spencer. I think that it was a way to try and defeat the monster you felt you were. I think this is the first time that you are able to find the weapons to slay the real monster," he said in a caring voice, "Don't let your fears or regrets control you. You are the one that controls your fate. Only you."

"Thank you, Archie," she said and closed her eyes as she let Archie hold her. She heard the chirping of the crickets from his open window and she couldn't help but think that he rocked her in time to their quiet serenade as if he was one of their own.


	12. Chapter 11: Surprises

**Chapter Eleven**: Surprises

Archie walked into his living room toward his kitchen in the early morning hours. He yawned and rubbed a hand through his hair as and put his glasses back on. Pongo yawned from his bed in the corner of the room and Archie paused as he saw another form next to his dalmatian. The brown and tan fur of Perdita stood out against the black and white coat of Pongo. Pongo wagged his tail slightly as he eyed his master. It looked like he took care on where his tail landed since he didn't want to disturb the other canine beside him.

Archie shook his head and then looked to the couch where his partner slept soundly. Ruby couldn't pull herself away from Archie the night before. She had tired herself out earlier that night from crying and running from her problems. As Archie had rocked her after her purge of information and past 'sins', she had fallen asleep against him. He didn't have the heart to wake her and laid her out of his couch where he tucked her in with the large blanket she already wrapped herself in.

Archie carefully and quietly walked to the side of the couch and looked over her. Her face seemed peaceful and relaxed. He really hoped that he had helped her the night before. So much pain and blame that she carried with her for so many years. He reached out and swiped a piece of her hair from her face. She took a deep breath and smiled in her sleep. He smiled back at her and turned away to get ready for the day.

Archie quickly made his breakfast and then some for his guest. He put the plate with Ruby's share in the microwave and then turned to his bedroom. He dressed quickly and pulled out a small, but heavy box from the back of his closet. He wiped at the top of the box as if to brush off the dust of misuse. His eyes began to glaze over as he remembered why the box was so unused.

'_Hopper! Take it! You can't let them get away!'_

He closed his eyes against the phantom voice from a long ago memory. He thought that this was the last thing that he wanted to do. The picture of Ruby popped back into his mind and he breathed out a large breath. For her, he would have to… to protect her.

"Time to bury the hatchet," Archie sighed troubled. He heaved the box and grabbed his umbrella from the back of his door before he headed out to the front room. He quickly scribbled a note for Ruby and placed it on the door so she would see it. He looked at Pongo and waved a playful finger at him, "Protect them until they wake up."

Pongo huffed at him and placed his head back over Perdita's back.

"Good boy," Archie smiled and took another glance at Ruby before he closed and locked his door.

* * *

Ruby stretched out as her dreamless sleep began to fade away. Her face still held a small smile when her eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling. Her brows furrowed for a moment as she tried to back track to where she was. Her head slipped to the side and she saw the set up of Archie's living room. She blinked a few times and sat up on the couch. She heard a soft bark and looked behind her at Pongo who lifted his head when she sat up. Perdita yawned and looked over at her mistress.

"Good morning, Perdi," she called over to her dog who seemed content to wag her tail and huff at her owner, not bothering to get up. Ruby turned her attention to the dalmatian and smiled, "Good morning to you too, Pongo."

Pongo barked happily at her.

Ruby swung her legs over the side of the couch and stretched up toward the ceiling from her seated position. She hummed happily and looked at the couch, "For a night on the couch, I have never felt this refreshed."

She got up from the couch and her eyes caught a large clock leading toward the hallway. It was just before six in the morning. Much too early for her, but now that she was awake, she can head home grab a shower and some clean clothes and get to work. She looked down the hallway where she assumed his bedroom was, "Archie? Archie, are you awake?"

She knocked on the door to what she assumed was the bedroom and asked in a teasing voice, "Are you decent?"

Without an answer, she poked her head in and saw the bed was made and no Archie. She huffed and walked back out to the front room. There, on the back of the door was a note. She tugged it off the door.

"'Good morning, Ruby'," she read out loud and smiled warmly at his action with a shake of her head, "'Hope you slept well. Would have offered the bed so I could take the couch, but you were already out. I went in to the station early to brush up on a few skills that have been lacking lately. Breakfast is in the microwave if you are hungry. Treat yourself to the shower if you would like. See you when you get here, partner… Archie.'"

The note was then folded and stuck in her back pocket. She popped the microwave door open and looked in to find a pancake and eggs breakfast waiting for her, still warm.

"They don't make them like Archie Hopper anymore," Ruby took the plate out and began to eat while she walked through his small apartment. She looked at the professional nature photos that lined the walls along with shots of Pongo in various stages of life. He didn't have any pictures of him or his family anywhere that she could see, unless you counted the few shots with his dalmatian. The neutral color scheme of his apartment would have seemed a bit drab to her initially, but it was understandable that he would want to relax when he got home from the drama and insanity of his profession. She snorted back a laugh around eggs at the thought, "Especially with me as a partner."

Perdita had finally picked herself out of Pongo's bed after she noticed that Ruby was eating something. She whined at her feet and Ruby nodded down to her.

"Okay, let me finish up and I will take you home to eat," Ruby quickly scratched up the last of the food from her plate and rinsed it off in the sink where it looked like his plate was. She looked at the dog bowl and found that he had already put food down for Pongo.

With a rub over the head and thank you to Pongo, she grabbed Perdita's leash and walked out the door. As she closed it behind her, she wondered how she would lock it. With a push at it, she found that the door knob locked itself. She breathed out a sigh of relief and headed to her place.

* * *

Ruby was in the station less than an hour later. She couldn't help it, but she was curious about what abilities he would have to 'brush up' on. She let out her whole history to him last night and she realized that she didn't know as much about him. Given, at first she didn't think that she would want to- or that there was even that much to know about Archie Hopper. Every day that she spent with him, she found herself more and more intrigued by the doctor.

She heard a few loud bangs coming from the back of the station house, which wasn't unheard of seeing as they had a small shooting range for the new recruits back there. She turned to the large clock at the doorway and noted that it was still just after seven-fifteen. There was barely anyone here. Let alone, anyone that would want to use the shooting range. Whoever it was unloaded their clip fast and reloaded fast from what she could tell.

Around the last corner, Ruby looked in through the large bullet proof glass into the shooting range and was surprised to see her partner on the other side. Archie had ear plugs in and chose to do without the safety glasses since he had his own. His face was the picture of quiet concentration as he sent bullet after bullet down the drive. The forty-five handgun in his hand stayed steady as he shot bullet after bullet into a hole that was put there by his initial shot, a good thirty yards from him. Right on the bull's-eye.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Marco asked as he stepped up next to her to watch his friend amaze her without even knowing it.

"I- I didn't think he knew how to shoot," she admitted and made sure that she was staring slack jawed at him.

"He does, as you can see, very well," Marco nodded with a chuckle and crossed his arms over his chest, a small file report hanging from one hand. He sighed sadly and shook his head, "He chooses not to. I am surprised that he even picked up his weapon."

"How do you know him, Marco?" she asked, immediately deciding to ask Archie about his incredible marksmanship later. If she shared her dark side, then he will share his.

"I worked with him on his first few cases," Marco explained, "He also helped me find my son."

"Your son?"

"August was always head strong and wanted to make something of himself," Marco nodded and watched Archie reload yet again, "He lost his way. Archie helped me find him and bring him home. Wanderlust got to him yet again a few years back. He set his sights on some islands in the Caribbean. Haven't heard from him since he left."

"I'm sorry, Marco," Ruby said sincerely.

"Thank you, my belladonna," he beamed and turned to hand over the file, "I know you already know about the voice on the tape, but here are all the findings we could compile. It isn't much, but maybe you and he can make sense out of it."

"We will definitely try," Ruby nodded and opened the file.

The shots finally stopped and they looked back at the glass where Archie stared back at them. They both smiled and waved at his shocked expression of being caught. He quickly packed up his gear and walked out with it.

"You two are spying on me now, huh?" he asked and set the items on the table so he could clean his firearm.

"I can to see who was shooting this morning," Marco explained and shrugged at Archie's amused expression.

"Curiosity," Ruby admitted without a fight and winked in Archie's direction, "By the way, nice shooting there, Tex."

Archie nearly had to jump to catch the suppressed spring of his firearm as he dismantled it. He shot her a look and then nodded to the file in her hand, "The last findings of the tape?"

"Astute as always, Watson," she teased and chuckled at him.

"Why do you get to be Sherlock?"

"Because I am the detective," she pointed to her chest and then leaned over and poked him in the nose, "…and you are the doctor."

Marco stood back from the two and watched their interactions with one another. Ruby looked and sounded happier. He heard that she had stormed out of the building last night with Archie on her tail. What he was seeing now was a total reversal of that. If he was reading them correctly, it was very different than what it was the night before. He could almost say that Ruby was flirting.

"If wonders never cease," Marco whispered to himself.

"What was that, Marco?" Archie asked and turned to him.

"Nothing," Marco chuckled and waved back at him, "I am going back to the lab. There are some backed up work to be done."

"See you soon, Marco," Ruby nodded toward him.

Ruby read off the last of the report and things that they had already known as Archie finished cleaning his firearm and packing it back in the heavy box he had pulled from his closet. They settled back in their office and both sat next to each other- Ruby on her desk and Archie leaning back against it- as they stared at the full board. Ruby had her lips pursed in a thoughtful expression while Archie's fingers drummed on his arm.

"Anything?" Ruby asked, her eyes never wavering.

"Nothing," he shook his head.

A knock at the doorway turned both their attentions to Graham. He had his hands in front of his face as he tried to shield himself if anything was going to fly toward him, "Is it safe?"

"Stop being such a drama queen, Graham," Ruby narrowed her eyes at him.

He smiled at the light tone of her voice and looked at the two of them, perfectly calm in one another's presence. His expression turned to one of confusion and then he decided to not question it. If Ruby was in a good mood, he was not going to poke at the issue of the night before.

"I got a guest for you in the other room," Graham nodded his head over his shoulder, "Wants to see how the case is going."

Ruby and Archie both gave each other a look and then looked out the window to the other room where Mayor Mills was trying desperately to stare down Emma Swan, who was doing her very best to ignore her. Ruby sucked in a breath to make a nasty comment with Archie cleared his throat loudly.

"Don't start, Ruby," he reminded her and she frowned in disappointment.

"I say it now, or to her face," Ruby said shallowly, "Which do you want to deal with?"

Archie sighed and did a hand flourish to tell her to get it out of her system.

"All I am saying is that she needs to get her pointy little nose out of our business. If anything important comes up, we contact her. Not the other way around."

"She's the mayor," Graham reminded her.

"She's also not a part of this investigation," Ruby growled and stepped from the window and paced back to her desk, "I'm still not totally sure that she's innocent in Leonard's death."

"That was her husband, wasn't it?" Archie asked and kept his eyes on the mayor.

"Yeah, he died suddenly," Ruby nodded and then paused, "How did you know?"

"Belle," he answered quickly and turned back to Graham, "Might as well get it over with."

"Incoming the evil queen," Graham said before he stepped back out to get the mayor.

"Evil queen?" Archie asked with a chuckle as he walked back to take back his place next to Ruby.

"That's her nickname," Ruby laughed to herself, "One of my own creation."

"Ah."

"Speaking of which, I have one for you," she smiled and he lifted a brow at her in question. She poked him in the arm and state simply, "Cricket."

"Why in the world would you pick 'cricket'?" he asked with a laugh of his own.

"You're unexpected, and underappreciated," she pointed out and poked at him in the arm again, "People don't think as much of you as they should. Then when I least expect it, you say the most beautiful things. Just like a cricket song."

He smiled at her description, "Thank you for the compliment then."

"You're welcome, Cricket," she said with a laugh, but then turned serious, "By the way… what else has Belle said about my talks with her?"

"She hasn't said anything about what she talks to you about," he shook his head and looked at her, "She just mentioned that she heard about the mayor's late husband."

"Then I owe her an apology for jumping to conclusions," Ruby noted out loud.

"Detective Lucas, Doctor Hopper," Regina Mills walked into their small office and stared at them both, "I came to check on the case. I was wondering when we can wrap this up and put it all behind us."

"Wrap it up?" Ruby asked and watched as the mayor nodded her head.

"Now that the killer is dead, we can rest easy at night," she smiled sickingly sweet, "I know I have since Miss Ficent's death."

Ruby and Archie shared a look and then Archie pushed from the desk to face the mayor, "Miss Mayor, the case isn't closed."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she turned sharply at him. Ruby could tell just by her expression that her infamous temper was rising, "Weren't there concrete pieces of evidence that linked her to the scenes?"

"Yes, but upon investigation we found that they were planted. On top of that, she did not meet the profile that was put together by Doctor Hopper," Ruby said as she pulled herself in front of Archie, "How did you know about the articles found at the scenes?"

"I have weekly meetings with town officials," she said with a snarl and looked out the window that looked into the main station room. There in the middle of the room, Graham and Emma shared close quarters with one another with smiles on their faces. Graham combed a hand through her hair as Regina felt anger bubble inside her, "…which includes the Sheriff. He keeps me updated because of my father."

"I am sorry, Madame Mayor, but the killer is still out there," Ruby let out a breath and watched the woman closely, "We are counting Mal Ficent's death as another of her victims."

"Her?" Regina turned back to Ruby and Archie.

"Yes, we know that the killer is a female," Ruby nodded and looked at her strangely, "We have for a while. It's strange that the sheriff didn't tell you _that_."

"What have you been doing for the last couple of weeks then?" Regina frowned.

"Following new leads and coming closer," Ruby frowned back and stared the other woman in the eyes, "Anything else we can do for you?"

"Any other details that I should know?" Regina asked and tried to get closer to the board.

"No," Ruby shook her head, "Not that you should know."

Regina took a breath and stood tall at the rebuff, "Then I will let you two get back to work. You have a killer to find."

"Indeed we do," Ruby nodded and the woman left briskly out the door and out of the station, with a cold and meaningful look toward the sheriff.

"Remind me again how her husband died?" Archie asked after she had left through the front doors.

"His system started to shut down," Ruby noted, "He turned violently sick quickly and then died slowly."

"I think you just may have something, Ruby," he said and turned back to the board to make more notes. She smiled happily when she heard him tapping on the surface again. It reminded her of his cricket song.


	13. Chapter 12: Dance Lessons

**A/N: **I know that I did a double update last week, but I felt that I should do it again this week as well. I wanted to get this chapter out since last chapter wasn't too much in progression of the story as it was setting up a few things to come. So I hope you enjoyed the double update and keep reviewing and keep reading. Happy reading, everyone!

**Chapter Twelve**: Dance Lessons

It was getting past six when Graham came into their office and looked in from the doorway. Ruby sat on her desk, tossing out what sounded like random words as Archie wrote them quickly on the board. Archie made a hand motion which she read easily and looked at another file before tossing out more facts or words. At the last list, Archie stood back from the board and rubbed the back of his head.

"Got your head ache, yet?" Ruby asked with a slight tease.

"It's getting there," Archie nodded and tossed the pen at the board. He rolled his head to pop his neck and then tossed back a, "Good evening, Sheriff."

"That is definitely spooky when you don't say that to my face, Archie," Graham said and both Ruby and Archie turned to him. He tried to give them a good smile, but it didn't reach his eyes and Ruby saw it.

"What's going on Graham?" Ruby asked with a slight frown.

"We…uh, we found another body," Graham said sadly and then brought an evidence bag from behind his back with a blood splattered note on the inside. He saw both of their faces crumble in sadness. They had tried so hard to make sure that they found the killer before the time ran out. Graham swung the note a little and nodded toward Ruby, "It's addressed to you."

"She's starting to write notes to us now," Archie said in a bit of shock. He looked at it while it still hung in Graham's hand, "Of course it's typed. I won't be able to analyze handwriting."

Ruby stepped forward and took the note from his hand. She looked at it through the clear evidence bag and began to read it over, "'To the so-called _Detective _Lucas:'- oh, that's nice."

"Ruby," Archie looked at her pointedly.

"Okay, okay, keep your pants on, Cricket," she waved at him with a hand.

Graham looked up at Archie who gave him a look that pleaded not to ask.

"'You think that a few media reports are going to throw me off my killing spree? I think that I am just beginning. Until you call your case closed and stop your hunt for me, I will keep killing. I would watch those closest to you, because… you know I will…'" Ruby looked at the lines of type and flicked her eyes up to Graham, "Gran?"

Archie also flicked his eyes to the sheriff for the answer. He knew the woman and though it wasn't personally, he felt like it was.

"She's fine," he put his hands out toward her to calm her down, "As soon as we found the body and the note I went over there personally to collect her."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ruby stepped toward him.

"She didn't want me to," Graham shrugged.

"Where is she?"

"A safe house," Graham handed Ruby a piece of paper. After she took it he held both of her upper arms and looked her in the eyes, "I promise you. No one followed us and I am the only one that knows that place. Now you are the only one other than me. There's a number on there too, I just wouldn't use your phone. Whoever this is has connections- and I wouldn't put it past them to have them in the phones too."

Ruby nodded and folded the paper with the address and the number into her pocket, "Thanks, Graham."

"I need you to come and identify the victim," he nodded to the door.

"Why me?" Ruby frowned.

"Because the only time I ever saw this guy was right before you joined the academy with me. In a small town it's hard to keep a low profile and I thought that he just moved away. I just want to make sure I got the name right," Graham said quietly and walked away.

Ruby furrowed her brows and scanned the floor in thought. Archie came up behind her and put a hand to her back in support.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually," she nodded and looked up at him, "Is that okay?"

"I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't."

The walk downstairs to the medical examiners was quiet, but not as awkward as she thought that it would be. Marco stood by with another lab tech, Doctor Whale. Graham stood off to the side and Archie stopped next to him as Ruby approached the body under the blue medical sheet. Archie noticed how Whale had taken his time in looking over Ruby and had to bite his tongue against the want to chew the man out. She nodded to Whale who pulled back the sheet.

Ruby took a breath and looked at the cold, expressionless face of Quinn. His chest cavity was clean, except for the large hole in the middle of his chest. He still had the same scruffy five o' clock shadow over his cheeks and chin which meant that he was killed relatively close to when she talked to him, though his face was drained of all color. Her teeth gritted together and she shook her head sadly. She never wanted to see the guy again. That didn't mean that he deserved this.

"Ruby?" Graham asked from behind her, "Do you know him?"

"His name is Quinn Moon," she said as she released her breath. She turned from the table and focused on Graham's face, "He was my mom's boyfriend before she died."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Last night," Ruby said calmly as she knew that he had to get the questions out of the way, "I was walking Perdita and he approached me around downtown. He wanted me to help him out as he was down on his luck."

"He was always down on his luck from what I remember," Graham nodded, "Altercation?"

"A verbal one," she nodded, "He argued about how I would help my mom, but not him. He also told me that… that I was just like her."

"It stayed verbal after that?"

"If it didn't, you would definitely see more bruising. I told him that I never wanted to see him again," Ruby looked back as Whale covered him back up.

"That I would believe without a doubt," Graham nodded and looked between her and Archie, "Why don't you two have the rest of the night off? This isn't easy even if you weren't close to him."

"She knew that I talked to him, Graham," she whispered to him and looked him in the eyes, "She _knew_. She's watching me."

"Maybe you should go to the safe house with Gran until this blows over," Graham rubbed the back of his head.

"No, I am not running from her," Ruby growled, "If she wants me, she's got me. The thing is, she really has no idea what is in store for her. No one threatens my family and friends and gets away with it."

Ruby turned from him and headed up the stairs. Archie watched her leave and turned to Graham who looked ashamed.

"I'll look over her," Archie said simply as if it was the natural thing to do. He turned to follow her path up the stairs when Graham caught his arm.

"What happened last night between the two of you?" Graham asked and looked the doctor in the eyes.

"I think Quinn happened," Archie looked over to the now covered cadaver and then back at Graham, "She came over to my apartment around nine. She told me that she didn't want to be like her. I didn't understand it at the time, but then she told me everything."

"What do you mean everything?"

"I mean everything," Archie drilled his eyes into Graham's, "Peter, her mother… everything. She fell asleep from exhaustion on my couch. She was still there this morning when I got up to come here."

Graham nodded and looked over at the cadaver as well, "You might not realize it, but you just gave me the alibi for her if others ever looked in her direction. Quinn wasn't killed until around eleven last night."

"You wouldn't believe that it was Ruby."

"Of course not," Graham shook his head, "But I am not the only person around here with authority who could jump to those conclusions."

Archie nodded in understanding and ran up the stairs to catch up with Ruby. She was in the main station room and was pacing at the doorway to their office. She had her jacket on and her arms crossed over her chest. She looked up when he came out from the bottom floor.

"What did Graham say?"

"Said Quinn wasn't killed until eleven last night," he reported to her and put his hands over her elbows to stop her from pacing, "Are you okay?"

"Archie, I'm f-"

"Don't tell me you're fine, because that tells me that you aren't," he warned her.

She sighed and blew some of her hair from her face, "I don't care about Quinn. Yes, he didn't deserve _that_, but it's not a big loss for me."

"Then what is it?"

"She threatened the ones I care for," she breathed out and shook her head, "How dare she go after my loved ones. She's a coward and I am ready to tear her apart."

"That would do it," he nodded and looked over his shoulder, "Let me get my things and I will walk you to your car."

"Can you do me a favor tonight?" she asked before he moved.

"Anything," he nodded calmly.

"I think that both of us need a real good, home cooked meal tonight," she nodded at her own assessment and then looked at him, "Will you come over to my place? Bring Pongo over to play with Perdita. Granny isn't the only one that knows how to make a mean dinner."

"You want to keep an eye on me," he pointed at her.

"Is it that transparent?" she put on a worried face.

"I told you, I am not going anywhere," he said with a light chuckle, "I would be honored to come over tonight. What time were you thinking?"

"Depends," she shrugged with a bright smile, "You wanna learn how to make heavenly chicken?"

* * *

Ruby set out the ingredients on the counter top of her large kitchen as Perdita watched from her spot near the couch. As soon as she got home, Ruby had changed into a comfortable dress that was used mostly for cooking or around the house and put her hair up. Lit scented candles were placed around the room and classical music was playing softly from her stereo as she was drawn to Beethoven and Chopin wherever she got into a cooking mood. She began to heat up the skillet and the rice was already boiling when she heard the door. Perdita barked and bounded toward the door, her tail already wagging.

Ruby looked through the peep hole and smiled. She opened the door, "Hi, Archie."

"Hello Ruby," he greeted back with a shy smile. He had changed out his earlier sweater vest and button up for a clean, green button up, with his dark leather jacket. She could tell that it was worn and well loved by the wear on the sleeves. His ever present umbrella hung from one elbow, opposite from Pongo, "You look nice."

"I went for comfort over fashion," she smiled and pulled at her skirt a little bit before she looked back up at him, "But thank you for the compliment. You look very dashing yourself."

Before he could answer, Pongo barked next to him and Ruby immediately knelt down and petted the dog all over his head and ears, "Hello, handsome boy! I've got someone who wants to see you."

Perdita ran around Ruby, almost knocking her to the floor to get to her friend. Ruby laughed at them both as their tails went nonstop. She gestured Archie in.

"Let him off the leash. I am sure that Perdita can show him around," Ruby said and watched as Perdita led Pongo directly to the back yard where they began to chase each other and tug toys between the two of them. Ruby chuckled at the two from her spot in the kitchen. Archie turned to the door, locked it securely and shrugged off his jacket to hang on the hook by the door.

"Okay, Cricket, let's get cooking," she smiled at his exasperated look.

"Do we have to stick with 'cricket'?" he asked as he went to wash his hands in the sink with her.

"I thought you took it as a compliment," she reminded him.

"I do," he nodded, "But it seems a little off. Doesn't exactly thrust fear into the hearts of criminals."

"It doesn't need to," she shook her head, "That's what you got your partner for."

He only chuckled in response and Ruby turned them both to the stove and oven.

As the minutes passed, she taught him when to take the rice off the heat and drain it. She also taught him to combine all the ingredients with the chicken- only when it was cooked through enough. Fortunately for them both, Archie was a good listener and they got through making dinner without too much of a hitch. After it cooled, they filled their plates and Ruby sat them down on the couch with her small table in front of them. For the good part of the meal they ate in comfortable silence.

"I have got to know something," she asked after he took what looked like one of his last bites. He looked at her, waiting for a question even with his mouth full of the chicken and rice dish they had made. She waited to make sure he wasn't going to choke when she asked, "Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

He nodded and quickly swallowed his bite, "Quantico. We were all required to be trained. I took to it pretty quickly."

"I'd say," Ruby smirked, "You could kick all of our asses in the department. Yet another talent that I never saw coming from the mysterious Doctor Hopper."

"I'm not all that mysterious, Ruby."

"Why don't you use a gun if you're so proficient?" she asked as she popped her own forkful into her mouth.

He poked at what was left of his food and took a deep breath, "I don't know if you want to hear it. It's a long story."

"I don't know about you, but I have all night," she said after a quick swallow. He wouldn't raise his eyes to her and she reached across to make him stop poking at his poor chicken, "Hey…"

His eyes flicked up to hers and she caught his interest.

"I told you my dark secrets," she reminded him, "It's okay to tell me yours."

"I don't like people here to know," he explained with a disappointed face, "I made roots here. I don't want what happened to follow me."

"I get that," Ruby said and looked at him, "But someone taught me that it isn't what's in your past that's important. You make your own decisions and your own fate. Only you."

He stared at her for a long moment after that with a thin hint of a smile. His smile then grew and leaned back in his chair, still in full eye contact with the woman across from him.

"I should have known you would use my own words against me."

She only shrugged and pursed her lips in wait for him to tell her.

"It was my second case after the end of my Quantico training," he explained and put down the fork on his plate as he could tell it may get a little messy, "Superiors and the higher ups wanted to see how I would do on a high priority case. It had to do with a couple that was swindling families out of their valuables and savings. They had turned violent in the last two years and they needed help catching them."

"How violent?"

"They had injured quite a few victims to get what they wanted. They had finally killed the last family to get out of the house with the valuables," Archie shook his head in disgust.

"How awful."

"We made a profile of them, me and another recent graduate," he motioned with his hand as if the graduate was there next to him, "We tracked them down quite easily and followed them to a large home that they had marked. We didn't know if the people who owned the home were present or not, but we couldn't wait. As I was the best shot in my class, they put me up front. It turned into a standoff. They had shot and injured a few of the agents that went in with me. A few of us found the remains of two adults in the sitting room, shot to death more than likely surprised when the couple broke in. The criminals had caught the little boy- the son of the people they had just murdered, to use as a hostage and keep everyone back. At one point, I was the only one with the clear shot… and then I saw their faces."

His eyes began to glaze over a bit and Ruby knew the look all too well from her time spending hours looking in the mirror. She put her plate on the short table in front of her and scooted toward him to turn his face toward hers. Once their eyes connected the ice blue that had frozen over in his immediately thawed and he took a deep breath.

"What is it, Archie?"

"They were my parents, Ruby."

"Your parents?" her eyes grew in surprise and his shut his to keep out her disappointment.

"Growing up they had used me as a distraction as they would pick pocket. Then they taught me how to do it for them. They kept me out of school so that I could work when they needed me. We moved from town to town so no one knew I wasn't missing school. I taught myself most of what the other kids learned by reading books and sneaking off to libraries on the nights that we would happen to stay over in a town. Somehow, I grew a feeling of right and wrong in that environment. I didn't want to steal, but they didn't give me much of a choice. I broke away from them as soon as I could. I emancipated myself at age sixteen and got myself into school and an education. I tested out for my GED and started in psychology as soon as I was accepted into a university."

"You broke free," Ruby smiled in acceptance as he had told her the same the night before.

"Not completely as I would have hoped," he added, "In that home I saw them and they saw me. They knew who I was and tried to bribe me back… while holding _a child_ hostage. The agents were telling me to take the shot and I had them in my sights. After everything that they had done to me, they were still my parents, and I didn't know if I could do it. Then my father clicked the hammer back on his gun and his finger went to the trigger. So… I pulled mine."

Ruby stayed silent this time, but kept her hands softly over his face, her thumbs running over his cheeks. His eyes opened to check her response and she only looked patient as he would set the pace.

"My first shot missed my target… and hit the hostage. My father pushed him in front of himself when he heard my gun go off. My second shot passed through my father's neck. He died quickly after that. My mother fell to the floor in surrender when my father fell down in blood. She screamed at me. Yelled at me, blamed me for killing her husband. I was just a stranger to her- always had been unless it suited her. That wasn't what stunned me that day. It was the child that I shot, an innocent young boy. He was rushed to urgent care, but died later that night. I killed the perp, but not before I killed a six year old boy. I never picked up a gun after that unless it was for qualifications. That a nice thing about a small town; people just assume I am shaky around firearms."

"Oh, Archie," she said after a long pause and leaned back, her hands leaving his face to land on his hands folded in front of him. She wrapped her long fingers around his fists and squeezed, "Look at us. So much in common and we didn't even know."

"How's that?"

"Blame isn't placed on us by others, only by ourselves," she said with a small shrug, "Kind of kicked away by our parents, only to be used later. Scared to let others in so they wouldn't see the monsters we see in ourselves. We are all just slaves to the game."

"What game is that?"

"The cruelest one of all… life."

He took a deep breath, "So you aren't going to run for it?"

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes, "You think that's going to scare me off?"

"Should know better," he nodded.

"You should, yes," she paused again and tilted her head, "I was just wondering, why would you pick one up again now?"

"I got something to protect," he said simply and gazed deep into her eyes.

Ruby's heart jumped into her throat in a nanosecond. She tried hard to swallow it down, but the loud thumping of the elevated heart rate made it difficult. She felt her cheeks flame with blush and she looked away, her hands following her movements. She cleared her throat and stood up with her plate in her hands. She rinsed it off and put it in the sink. She heard him follow her into the kitchen and he followed her lead on rinsing off his plate. She wiped her hands off with a dish towel and she felt him behind her, watching her- studying her. Only this time, she didn't mind it as much.

"Do you know how to dance?" she asked suddenly and turned toward him.

"What?" he looked surprised and she knew he didn't expect the question.

Ruby pointed to her small stereo as another waltz decided to play. She then pulled on one of his arms to the middle of a wide space in her living room. She stood in front of him and put one of his hands on her waist, the other in her hand to their side. He looked flustered and confused, but she only smiled.

"A gentleman should know how to dance," she said to him.

"I am horrible with timing," he admitted.

"Then we will have to work on it," she said up to him, "Now, you lead. Start with your left foot…"

The next half hour was spent forgetting about pasts and learning to dance. Stubbed toes and crushed feet from both parties were experienced as Ruby was not the teacher she thought she would be. Their dogs took spots on the couch to watch their owners spin. Though with every try, they pulled closer together and fell into time with one another. They began with a waltz, then moved to more lively music as Ruby had changed the station. He began to get a hold of the moves and at one point swung her out and spun her back in, only to result in them running into one another. She laughed at the attempt, not because it was bad, but because she was having fun. He couldn't help but laugh along with her. The songs slowed down again and they settled into a simple box step.

Archie breathed out the steps and kept looking down at his feet to ensure he wouldn't crush hers anymore than he already had.

"Hey," she called out to him and he looked at her face, "Keep your eyes on mine."

"O-okay," he breathed out as he suddenly felt like the air was pushed from his lungs.

After a few steps, both sets of feet stopped moving and they were just holding one another in the middle of her floor. Her hand that was on his shoulder, slid to his neck, as his hand on her waist pulled her in closer. Their clasped hands began to drop to the side as she raised up and he bent down. Eyes closed and breath began to blend …

"Rubes!" a yell came through the door and a hard pounding echoed in the front of the house.

Ruby clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth in frustration as Archie stepped away immediately at the loud noise. Both dogs barked at the door as Ruby went to answer it. Archie stayed back and told both dogs to quiet down, which both Pongo and Perdita followed.

Ruby looked out the peep hole and groaned. This was not her day.

She threw open the door and there on her porch was Billy with a handful of what looked like fresh picked daisies. Her least favorite flower. She looked at the bouquet and then at him with a roll of her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Billy?" she asked exasperated.

"I wanted to have a try at this again," he pointed between the two of them and pushed the flowers toward her again.

"At what?" Ruby asked and leaned against the door frame, "Me waiting for you to change while you go out a pick up another girl? I've had enough. The last two months have been good to me without you."

"Let's just go inside and we can talk-" Billy pushed on the door before Ruby could catch it. He looked down the entry way and saw Archie on her couch with both the dogs. All three of them did not look at all that happy to see him. Billy looked from Archie to Ruby and then back again, "Another doggy play date?"

"It's none of your business," Ruby frowned at him.

Archie stood up, hooked up Pongo's leash and grabbed his jacket from the side of the door. Ruby saw his movements and shook her head at him.

"Archie, you don't need to leave," she told him in an apologetic tone.

"I probably should," he nodded and nodded toward Billy, "You two have things to hash out and I think it would be better if I make myself scarce."

"Good thinking," Billy agreed and got a look from Ruby.

Ruby turned her attention back to Archie and pulled on his sleeve before he stepped out the door, "Call me later so I know you're okay, yeah?"

He smiled warmly at her concern and nodded. He looked at the other man and bit his tongue before he would do more damage. He pulled at Pongo's leash and walked down the sidewalk toward his apartment. Ruby suddenly felt like her apartment grew colder when he left. Billy tapped his foot on the ground like an impatient six year old and waited for her to shut the door.

This was really not her night.


	14. Chapter 13: Fight For It

**A/N: **Sorry it took a while for me to get this chapter out. I've been trying to get some things together with school, work and my personal life. But here it is. I think you all will like this chapter. I might update another chapter soon. It depends. More than likely a chapter will follow right after, knowing me. Enjoy and happy reading!

**Chapter Thirteen**: Fight For It

"So, you going to tell me what that was about?" Billy asked after she had shut the door.

"No."

"I think I deserve an explanation."

"It really is none of your business, Billy," Ruby frowned and looked at the flowers in his hands again, "Why daises?"

"They're your favorite," he shrugged and held them out to her with a smile she was sure to charm her.

_Strike one, wrong flowers._

"No, they're probably my least favorite flower out there except maybe the ones that can kill you," she crossed her arms over her chest, "Even then; those are usually the most beautiful."

"Come on, Rubes," he smiled brightly, trying to get back in her good graces. At the sound of the hated nickname she bit the inside of her cheek. He sniffed at them, "They smell nice and I know that it will add some spice to this place."

"I never liked their smell and my place is spicy enough, thanks," Ruby sneered at him and flicked her eyes toward the living room where Perdita watched the fight closely over the back of the couch, making sure that the man stayed a good distance from Ruby.

"I bet with that guy coming over," Billy muttered.

"Archie has nothing to do with us," she waved a pointer finger in the air between the two of them, "He is my partner and we are allowed to socialize outside of the station. Not that this- _us_- is ever happening. So as far as I am concerned, you have no say in who is in my house. Be it a partner, friend, date or otherwise. I don't need your permission."

"But I can't date other women?"

"Not when we were together!" Ruby said exasperated, "Don't you get it? We aren't together anymore, Billy! Haven't been for a while now."

"Because of him."

"It was before him, remember?" she felt a headache coming on and looked back down at the flowers he was still trying to hand her, "Where did you get the idea that I loved daisies anyway?"

"You told me on our date to the harbor, where we…" he trailed off as he thought back and brought the flowers down to his side.

"That wasn't me, was it?" she asked, her arms folded tightly against her chest and her jaw clenched in anger.

"You do like flowers, though, right?" he asked with a weak smile at her.

_Strike two, wrong woman_.

"You really think you are going to get anywhere tonight with a big mistake like that?" she growled and turned away from him toward her kitchen so she wouldn't hit him, "Now would be the time to bow out gracefully."

Instead of taking the hint, he followed her further into her home and looked at all the dirty dishes in the sink and on the stove top. He frowned and looked at her surprised, "You cooked for him."

"Yeah, I do that for people every now and again," Ruby began to wash the plates in the sink before she tossed them into the dishwasher.

"You never did for me," Billy finally laid down the flowers on the counter.

"When were you here for dinner and not a booty call?" Ruby bit out and flashed her eyes dangerously at him, "Be careful how you answer that. Be sure that it's me that you're talking about and not someone else."

"Rubes, no one means more to me than you," Billy leaned over the counter to look her in the eyes, "You gotta believe that. When I was with other girls, they just never measured up. They never could, because you are the most important person to me."

_Lying. Strike three, you're out._

"If you really meant that- _believed_ it- you would never had done what you did to me," she growled out as she stalked toward him. He began to walk backwards, away from her as she came toward him; scared of the look in her eyes flashing at him, "You never would have cheated on me. You wouldn't have mistaken any other girl for me…"

"Rubes, I-"

"You would listen when I have told you- _many times now_- that I loathe that nickname," she added and pushed him down the hallway toward the front door. Perdita followed close behind her on her heels, "Finally… you would have never lied to me. Never would have crossed your mind. If I was _that_ important to you."

"But I love you," he tried to challenge, but didn't have the conviction in his voice. Perdita snapped at him as he tried to reach his arm toward Ruby.

"No, you love yourself. You've always loved yourself. _You_ are your most important person," she shrugged and then reached past him to open her door. He nearly fell on his ass on the way out, but caught his balance at the last second. She pointed to his truck parked a little ways down the street, "Get out of here, Billy. We are done. No more- finished. Never come here again."

Without a look back, she slammed the door and walked back to do the rest of her dishes. She had some anger to vent and the left over residue on her favorite cooking pans would be a perfect victim. The poor kitchen sponge would never be the same. As she fought the tough baked on rice, she thought to the moment before Billy jumped into the night. She was about to kiss him- kiss Archie. That was really a whole can of trouble she probably shouldn't open. Interdepartmental relationships are never a good idea.

"Although, he is only on temporary assignment," she whispered as she dunked the pan into the water and picked it back out. She looked up to the ceiling and questioned herself, "Am I crazy for wanting to kiss a shrink?"

Perdita came over and rubbed her head against Ruby's thigh. Ruby sighed and looked down at her dog.

"Thank you, Perdi," she patted the dog on her head and tugged playfully at her ear, "I needed some confirmation. At least I know that you're okay with him."

Perdita's tail wagged at her and kept her company at the sink while she finished her pans. Ten minutes after Billy left and Ruby began to calm down Perdita turned toward the door with her ears perked up. She walked away from her owner and toward the door where she began to whine.

"I swear to God, if Billy did not get that last declaration, I will shoot him in the head myself," she said under her breath as she rubbed her hands dry with a dish towel.

As if knowing that her hands were finally dry, there was a knock on the front door. Ruby actually asked herself on whether or not to get her firearm from her bedroom. She decided against it and walked down the short entryway. It was bad enough that he intruded on her and Archie right before … whatever that was. At the door, she took a deep breath and opened the door with her anger rising.

"Billy, for the love of God, will you leave me alo-" Ruby began to yell, when she actually looked at who was at the door. She slapped her hands over her mouth before she went any further.

"I am guessing he already left?" Archie asked with a chuckle at her embarrassed look on his partner.

She nodded and brought her hands down from her mouth, "Archie! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to just blast you."

"It went that well, huh?"

"Remember, he's not the best of gentlemen," she shook her head and leaned on her door frame, "Why'd you come back?"

He lifted his empty arm, "I left my umbrella."

"You never leave that thing behind," she noted and then smirked up at him, "Did you forget it on purpose so you would have to come back to make sure I was okay?"

He smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his head as he was caught, "Like you said, he isn't the best of gentlemen. Am I intruding too much on your turf by doing that? I don't want to over step any boundaries here."

"You're really concerned about that, aren't you?" Ruby's eyebrows furrowed and she smiled up at him.

"Of course," he said as if it was common knowledge, "I know for a fact that you can handle yourself. You're strong and brave in your own merit. I also know that your boundaries are there for a reason and shouldn't be crossed. You deserve more respect than that."

A split second later, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him down to her. Her lips pushed against his as she stood on her toes to meet him in the middle. In his surprise, he dropped Pongo's leash and the dalmatian took it upon himself to enter the house and greet Perdita with a wag of the tail and a sniff to her muzzle. Ruby's lips stayed over Archie's hoping that she didn't misread the moment that was interrupted after the impromptu dance lesson. She felt hands go to her waist to balance and then pull her against him as his lips began to reciprocate. Her lips shifted into a thankful smile against his before she pulled back.

She looked up at him to see his eyes still closed and his lips followed hers as she leaned back. She giggled at him and felt his hands tighten just enough to be a weak effort to bring her back toward him. He opened his eyes slowly and looked dazed, his eyes a pretty, cloudy blue.

"You okay there, Archie?" she asked in a slight whisper.

"I… I, um," he tried to answer and then swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, "I… forgot my umbrella."

Ruby smiled coyly at him. With her hands still clutched at his collar, she tugged at him to bring him inside, "Then let's go get it."

"Uh huh… okay," he nodded and followed after her without protest.

* * *

Both Ruby and Archie laid back on her bed out of breath. Ruby pushed a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face as her other hand held the sheet to her chest. He turned on his side toward her and kissed over her shoulder. His breath ghosted over the wet spots his lips left behind on her skin, mixed with beads of sweat and she chuckled unsure she could talk. He smiled from her breathy laugh, ran his larger hand around her waist and moved his kisses from her shoulder and up her neck to her lips.

"How…" she spoke between his kisses over her lips, "How do you keep surprising me?"

"It's a hidden talent of mine, I guess," he kept kissing her, this time from her lips to her ear. He nibbled on her ear lobe and whispered in her ear, "Besides, I needed to pay you back from earlier. That was a great surprise at the door, by the way."

She hummed happily from his attentions and then turned into his arms to nuzzle into his neck. He wrapped her in his arms and felt her try to move close to him.

"You know, you can't get any closer at this point, Ruby," he placed a kiss at her hairline and then placed his chin on the top of her head.

"Just watch me," she accepted the challenge and tossed her leg over his. With her ear against his chest, she heard his heart loud and clear. His deep chuckle reverberated through his whole chest and she felt immensely safe, surrounded by him. She had never felt that with any of her past lovers. Her eyes fluttered against his neck and shoulder as she thought quietly to herself. At first she thought that he had fallen asleep, but then his fingers ran up and down her back and arms from where the covers slipped down in a soothing pattern.

"We just opened Pandora's box, didn't we?" she said against his neck and took a deep breath.

"Just shifted the lid was all," he spoke against her hair.

"'Shifted the lid'?" she smirked and pulled away just slightly to look up at him, "We're partners."

"Indeed we are," he nodded and stared back at her.

"Partners… aren't supposed to be…" she struggled and narrowed her eyes up at him, "Well, like this."

"Tell me something," he shifted slightly to lean on his arm to look over her, her dark hair spread over the pillows. His hands ran through the strands and he studied her face, "Do you really care about that? Being partners… and this?"

"Wait," she pointed at his face, "Aren't you supposed to be the straight laced one out of two of us? Here you are trying to turn me back into a wild child."

"_Back_ into?" he laughed and kissed her quickly, "With or without me, you've always been a wild child, Ruby."

"Oh wow," she smirked proudly and pulled him down to her before rolling over him, to push him on his back. She crossed her arms over his chest so that she could lay her chin on her arms and look down at him, "It looks like I have corrupted the good doctor."

Something rumbled in his chest and she looked down at him, still worried.

"Ruby, if it doesn't bother you, you shouldn't be this worried," he kept a hand through her hair, a new growing obsession he has found. He studied her face again and saw apprehension in her eyes, "_Does_ it bother you?"

"No, it doesn't," she shook her head and caught his hand before it did another pass and kissed his palm.

He quickly cupped her cheeks in his large hands and looked her straight in the eyes, "Then stop trying to talk me out of loving you."

"You love me?" she asked, surprised and shocked.

She knew that he never lied- never had a reason to. Never would with her as far as she was concerned. It was powerful and scary and she felt her heart take leaps and bounds. Her eyes grew a little at the sudden confession and she didn't know what to do. She's never said it and meant it, except when it came to family. With Archie, she knew that she had to mean it if she said it. He deserved that and so much more.

He felt her face almost pull away, and probably would have if his hands still weren't caressing her face, "Please, don't run."

Her eyes watered and she nodded as the tension began to leave her body just from his voice. Where was she going to go? He would follow her and she usually ended up running to him, even if she was running from him to begin with. His hands ran down her arms and she leaned further up to lay comfortably over him, locked against him just like two pieces finally sliding together. He tucked her head under his again and easily held her over him, letting her relax against him.

"I don't know if I remember how to love, Archie," she confessed into his neck, "I don't remember ever feeling this… happy. I feel safe and warm when I am around you. I feel like I don't need to hide anything away anymore. You have become my hiding place and that scares me. I feel strongly for you, but I don't know-"

"Shh," he whispered into her hair, "You don't have to say it back if you aren't ready. I love you, and you care enough to be honest with me. I can't ask you to pull out an emotion if you are unsure, and I refuse to. Take all the time you need to figure it out, I'll still be here for you whatever you find."

Memories of past men confessing the strong attraction to her they called 'love'. She wouldn't give that word over lightly, and they would pry it from her days or weeks later. Not too long after that the relationship would end. She would not be told who to love. Archie was the first to give her the choice and patience when it came to the confession of love.

"That's what makes it so difficult," she whispered to him, "You just can't be a douche like the rest of the male population, can you?"

"I do have the outstanding record for making you angry on a daily basis," he added and she laughed against his neck.

"You're getting better at that," she mumbled and yawned before she nuzzled against him again, "Good night, Archie."

"Goodnight, Ruby," he whispered back and looked over her head and out her bedroom window, her drifting off to sleep in his arms. He wasn't worried, wasn't angry; he was happy just to be with her. If he wakes up from this dream and she finds a better man, then at least he would have this.

He did love her.

He knew deep down that he always would.

* * *

Billy leaned against his truck and saw the interaction between his ex and her 'partner' just outside her door. He hid in the partial alleyway between two of the larger homes a little ways down the street. She grabbed the guy's shirt and brought him inside her home. He scoffed, "Partner, my ass."

"Stings a little doesn't it?" a strong female voice said from the alleyway behind his truck. The disembodied voice took a breath, "If it helps any, I know you could do much better."

"How would you know?" Billy turned his attention to the darkness lurking behind him. He looked between the lit street and the curious shadows who called to him. He tugged on his shirt and walked in, sure that confidence would overwhelm the fear her had, "Ruby was the best girl that I will ever have."

"Well, I will agree with you on that one," the voice spoke from right behind him. Billy turned quickly, but only got a face full of a low grade mace. He roared at the contact of the chemical spray and stumbled against the wall.

"What the Hell are you doing?" he yelled out to the feminine specter that he had yet to see.

The laugh was cold as it echoed off the walls and planters around him, "Don't worry yourself. You won't feel a thing. Rest assured that I plan to have her follow you shortly."

"What ar-" his questions were cut short as he felt the sharp sting of a needle in his neck. He tried to pry her off, but he felt sluggish, his heart slowing, a new darkness descending. His back hit the wall and slid down to the gravel without her help.

"Easy enough," she chuckled and dusted off her hands.

"Don't move!" a voice bellowed from behind her. She heard the distinct click of a gun's hammer and another command, "Get your hands up!"

Her long fingers pointed to the sky as the voice came closer to her, "Well, well, Sheriff. Looks like you caught me."

"No…" Graham lowered his firearm slowly and looked at the woman in front of him, "It was you?"

"Who else really?" she smirked and took the opportunity his shock presented. She threw a small syringe at him and it embedded itself in his neck. He fell to the ground as the poison flooded his system.

"Oh, dear sheriff. Wrong place, wrong time. Wrong bitch to trespass against."


	15. Chapter 14: The Accused

**Chapter Fourteen**: The Accused

Ruby woke up slowly when she felt her brain go into over drive. She was in her room; she was sure about that. The feel of the bed and the familiar noises told her as much. Then there was something not so familiar. The quiet breathing across from her, ghosting over her lips and the light, yet reassuring pressure of an arm over her waist. Her eyes opened slowly and found her nose a hair away from Archie's.

It took a moment for her mind to catch up to her as the night before became clear. She remembered him coming back and the kiss that started it all. She remembered the clothes falling to the ground and the passion that bloomed inside her from a single look from him. She remembered how he had confessed that he loved her and how she couldn't say it back… and how he didn't push her about it. He said he would wait and she believed him.

Her eyes softened at the picture in front of her. He had taken off his glasses before he fell asleep and his hair stuck haphazardly in odd angles. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed in a soothing rhythm. Without the worries of the day marring his features, she saw a softer side of her new lover. She leaned forward and touched her forehead with his, in a way to become closer to him.

Archie took an intake of breath and his arm tightened over her waist. His nose rubbed against hers in his sleep and she smiled at the unconscious gesture. Her hands pushed gently against his bare chest as his splayed against her back. The protective nature of his caresses was new to Ruby. She never needed a man to watch out for her, or protect her. She could do that perfectly fine herself. Archie knew that, but the gesture was comforting and heartwarming to Ruby.

She closed her eyes again to catch some sleep before they both had to get up. As she began to lose consciousness, a wish came to her. She wished that she could wake up every morning like this… with him. With his arms around her in an unspoken promise of protection and devotion- of safety and adoration. He loved her, he said it himself. If she was truthful with herself no one since Peter has ever said in that honestly, that sincere and candid. That made her want to love him. Maybe… she already did.

Ruby's cell went off at the side of the bed, vibrating against the wood of her nightstand. She breathed in quickly in surprise and Archie groaned as he woke up, waving his arm to his other side where he most likely kept his own alarm clock. Ruby caught him arm before he did any damage.

"It's okay, it's my phone," she muttered and his arm lowered and returned around her waist.

Ruby smirked a little as his face tried to push itself into her neck. She picked up the phone and cleared her throat before she spoke, "Lucas."

"Ruby, it's Emma."

Ruby was instantly awake and sat up. Archie knew that something was wrong. He reached over and put on his glasses as Ruby continued her conversation.

"Emma?" Ruby pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the number. It was the station house number, the one that Graham usually called her from. She shook her head and ran a quick hand through it, "What's going on?"

"You need to come to the station now," Emma's voice caught as if she was upset, or… crying, "Something bad happened last night. We need you here. I will call Doctor Hopper and have him meet us here."

"No, no," Ruby motioned to Archie to get out of the bed as she had done the same, "I will get him. We will be there in no time."

Ruby hung up the phone and Archie reached for his clothes that had been unceremoniously dumped on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked as he quickly dressed.

"I don't know, but it isn't good," Ruby answered and threw on a clean pair of dark jeans and a clean top.

They both checked on their dogs on their way out and put extra food out for them both before they raced to the station. Ruby was at the wheel and didn't let up on the gas until they were parked outside the station and through the doors. Emma was in the middle of the main station room with nearly all the officers around her. Her face was blotched with red, but still every bit in control. David was closest to her with Marco a few more steps away. Their faces weren't fairing any better than Emma's. This was definitely not good.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked when she got close enough.

"We found two more victims this morning," Emma said quietly.

"Who?"

Marco came forward with his arms outstretched toward Ruby, "Belladonna, you need to sit down."

"No, I don't," she pushed his hands away from her and shook her head. She turned her attention back to Emma and David, "Tell me who it was."

Marco shot a warning look to Archie who also looked worried.

"Billy and… and Graham," David answered as Emma took a hard swallow.

"Wha… no," Ruby shook her head as her heart felt like it was covered in ice cold water. Tears instantly sprung to her eyes and she backed up a few steps in shock. Her back hit Archie's chest and his hands immediately caught her as her legs nearly gave way. He held her against him as she felt her body begin to shake, "Not Graham… not him…"

Archie turned her around and held her head against his chest. His arms enveloped her again and she felt the moisture from her tears begin to soak into his shirt. He took a deep breath to keep his own feelings in check while she kept an ear pressed against him where she could hear the beating of his heart. He was still here. He was still alive. Once that was established, she felt the anger begin to set in.

"Ruby?" Archie asked down at her.

"She took my brother…" Ruby growled against him and looked up at him, the tears receding as the fire burned in her eyes, "Graham deserved better."

"I know," Archie nodded and wiped the last of her tears from her face, "And she will pay for it."

"Damn right she will," Ruby turned from him and looked at the other officers and Emma after a deep breath. The rest of the room stared at her and her partner as if seeing something new- something seen for the first time. She kept her head up through the pain and looked at Emma, "Where do I need to start?"

"We," Archie corrected and stood next to her, "Where do we start?"

Ruby looked at him with something akin to adoration and felt his fingers brush against hers, unsure of what she wanted everyone else to see.

"What the Hell are you people doing?!" a voice screeched from the entrance.

Everyone in the room turned to the entry way and saw Regina Mills, in tears and red anger flushing her face. Emma straightened herself and tugged on her jacket as she turned toward the mayor.

Regina saw the stance and pushed past Archie and Ruby and straight for the deputy. She wiped at her face and then looked straight into Emma's eyes, "How did this happen? How is the _Sheriff_ killed?"

"Just like anyone else, Madam Mayor," Emma bit out and didn't let the other woman see her weakness, her emotions. Right before their eyes, Emma became a blank wall- devoid of emotion, "He was on his nightly rounds and apparently caught her in the act. She caught him off guard… and killed him. Murdered him."

"So what are you doing about it?" she snarled back.

"We're going to catch the bitch and see her burn in Hell," Emma said back.

"Who's going to run the show then?" Regina challenged and stood back.

"I will," Emma answered plainly, "It was put into the books and through the legal channels before… before the sheriff died. In case of his death, his position may be taken up by a deputy under him."

"You just got here."

"But she has the most experience and some of the best judgment calls I have ever seen out in the field," David backed her and stood next to her as most of the other officers did in the room.

Regina watched the support system grow and nodded reluctantly, "Very well."

"Anything else we can do for you, Mayor Mills?" Emma asked a growl still present in her voice.

"Yes," Regina turned and pointed a long manicured finger back at Ruby, "You can arrest Detective Lucas for the murders."

"What?!" Ruby screamed and took a few steps toward Regina as if to charge her, but Archie kept her back, "How dare you! I would _never_ do this!"

"There are so many instances to account for, Detective," Regina frowned and now stalked around Ruby and Archie, "You didn't have much connection to my father, true, but the second victim, the hooker… she had been an informant on a few of your past cases, hadn't she? Maybe plant some evidence for you?"

"All of my cases have been clean, don't you dare say otherwise."

"What about the private eye," Regina mocked and narrowed her eyes at the detective, "Got a little too close maybe? Becoming a better detective than you? Is that why you killed him?"

"I didn't kill any of them!" Ruby struggled against Archie's grip, but he held her from doing anything worse.

"Then poor, poor Mal," Regina shook her head in sadness, "You were the one to lead the evidence toward her, weren't you? There was a voice on the tape you found wasn't there?"

Ruby kept her mouth shut and wondered how she knew.

"Sheriff had told me about the call… I wonder where you were when it happened?"

"On my way to the scene," Ruby said through gritted teeth.

"So unaccounted for?" Regina asked and lifted her brows before she turned and began with another victim, "Then there was your mother's old boyfriend who we all know you despised. Then just last night, your on-again off-again boyfriend is torn apart. Tell me, did you tear out his heart slowly?"

"I didn't touch him."

"And then the Sheriff… how could you do that to someone you knew so well?"

"What about Mary?" Ruby shouted out, the tears starting to come back to her eyes, "You saying that I shot Mary in the head myself?"

"If the shoe fits," Regina smiled triumphantly, "Great opportunity to get rid of your partner and take all the credit. You get to play the hero."

"There is nothing heroic about watching your best friend bleed out from a head wound!" Ruby screamed as tears started to fall, "You bitch!"

"Such aggression, Detective…" Regina tisked at Ruby, "You truly can be a monster can't you?"

Archie leaned forward and hugged Ruby from behind, effectively pinning her arms at her sides. His lips almost touched her ear as he whispered to her, "You and I both know that what she says isn't true. You aren't a monster. You are you… and I love you for that."

Her anger immediately began to drop at his words, even with the vile woman right in front of her. She began to calm down and nodded back at him to let her go. He did so and she sighed, "Thank you."

"Any time," he nodded back.

"Sheriff Swan," Regina began again, "I want you to detain Detective Lucas for her possible connection to the murders."

Archie's head snapped from Ruby toward Regina, "Excuse me, Regina."

"What is it, you insignificant bug?" she asked with impatience.

Ruby stepped forward to defend him, but he put his hand up to stop her and shook his head. He turned back to the mayor and cleared his throat, "Where is your proof?"

"My what?"

"Proof for all these accusations against my partner?" Archie asked again and when she didn't answer he continued, "I believe on the night of your father's death she was at a departmental meeting with a majority of the people in the room. That is a matter of public record, as is the roster of those in attendance. The next victim fell at the same time that Ruby was investigating your father's death, at the crime scene all day with her partner at the time. The private eye died hours before Ruby or Mary even reached the warehouse- hours when Ruby was still writing her report on the case files- time stamped if you would like to see them?"

"That won't be necessary," Regina frowned and eyed the doctor, "I still believe that-"

"Not done yet," Archie rose a finger and everyone in the room seemed surprised by the usually quiet man's gull to go against the mayor, "On the night of Mister Moon's death, she was with me at my home- as she was last night in her home. All these people who are close to her are getting picked off by the same psychopath who had sent her a note saying that they would do just that. This woman- no, I'm sorry- this _monster_ that is killing these people… she doesn't have a heart of her own. No wonder that she takes those of the people she kills. I can attest to the fact that Detective Lucas does in fact have a heart… and I refuse for you to say differently."

Regina took a deep breath as she tried to stare down the doctor and shifted her eyes between him and the shocked and amazed woman behind him. She smirked and chuckled darkly to herself, "I can see what's happening here. Of course a man in love would defend the woman in question."

Archie didn't flinch from the true statement, though he heard some shuffling of feet and whispered amazement from the officers. Thankfully he heard nothing of the sort from Ruby. She stood strong just behind him, ever a support and motivation.

"She's not the one, Mayor," Emma said, cutting the tension between her and the psychologist.

Regina turned from Archie and eyed Emma, "So you won't even investigate her?"

"Her movements have been accounted for, as Doctor Hopper had said," Emma picked up a nearby file and held it out to her, "Compiled by Graham. He protects his deputies and officers. Somehow he knew that someone would try to name Ruby. With her close connection to the case, and another already falsely accused of the crimes. He wanted to make sure that there were no mistakes."

"You are the one making the mistakes, _Sheriff_ Swan," she spat and turned on her heel. She glared at Ruby and Archie as she walked out the door and into her Mercedes.

Emma looked back at the other officers who were still shell shocked by the whole scene that unfolded before them. Emma let out a breath and turned to the large group, "Okay, show's over, guys. Let's get back to work and find this bitch."

The room began to shift back into some kind of normalcy. David took a few of the officers and decided to take a beat around town to see what they could dig up.

"She's scared," Emma said and folded her arms over her chest as she stepped next to Ruby and Archie.

"Yeah…" Ruby narrowed her eyes at the door and then turned to Emma, "Makes you wonder why, doesn't it?"

"You aren't thinking what I am thinking, are you?" Emma asked with a lift of a brow.

Both women held the glance and then turned to Archie who had stuck to Ruby's side.

He took a deep breath and thought back to his profile of the killer, "She does fit the profile quite nicely. A woman in power, quiet unless provoked- able to keep enough connections to keep her out of any real big trouble. Close to the first victim… the question then becomes who is her intended victim?"

"Who?" Ruby asked herself and then looked up toward Marco who waited off to the side, "What was it that you said had killed them?"

"Atropine," he said with a nod.

"She would have no access to it, would she?" Ruby asked.

"Not many do outside of medical personnel, Belladonna," he said with a shake of his head.

Archie's head suddenly perked up from his deep thoughts. He looked between Marco and Ruby and pointed to her while he tossed a question at Marco, "What did you just call her?"

"What?" Marco looked at him and then at Ruby as if he had said something wrong, "Belladonna? I have always called her that."

"… of course," Archie whispered and walked over to the closest computer to open up a search window online.

"Archie, what do you have?" Ruby asked and leaned over one of his shoulders as his fingers viciously tapped on the key board and tried to find files and links. Emma stood to one side with Marco right behind her.

"Atropine isn't just in medical facilities. It has a much more natural base or origin. It can be harvested…" he explained as he finally found the page he was looking for. He leaned back from the screen and poked at the image in front of them, "… by this."

All three spectators looked at the screen and the name scrolled on top.

"Belle told me what you had said about the mayor's past time activities. What is our dear mayor known for in her award winning garden?" Archie asked up at Ruby.

"Nightshade," Ruby nodded and turned to Emma.

"That is very interesting," Emma agreed as her eyes didn't leave the screen.

"Belladonna is another name for its blooms," Archie explained and pointed at Marco, "You are our lucky charm, my friend."

"_You_ are an intelligent, lucky man," Marco countered.

"Damn right," Ruby agreed and sent Archie a look that was as good as a kiss in Archie's book.


	16. Chapter 15: Final Standoff

**Chapter Fifteen**: Final Standoff

The afternoon came fast as most of the officers were on high alert around the town. Many citizens were frightened since Graham's death- if the sheriff couldn't protect himself, who could against the killer who had too many victims. David had led most of the officers and organized them into their different routes. Emma headed the medical investigation and was in the examinations with Marco and Whale. Meanwhile, Ruby and Archie searched through the history of Storybrooke for Regina's connection.

"I should have seen this coming," Ruby muttered as she and Archie went through paper clippings and cases that may have involved Regina at one point or another through the town's history. Ruby tossed another box to the side, "I think a part of me did."

"Hey," Archie pointed at her and made her turn toward him. He eyed her and sent her a look, "No blame games."

She smirked back at him and nodded, which appeased him for the moment.

With the pieces that they had, strapped to the board Ruby thought out loud as she scanned the different articles, "Let's see… husband dead, father dead, disputes with businesses and families across the board. The woman hates everyone in town. Anyone could be her target… or maybe just everyone."

"Maybe you were the target," Archie said from his seat as he tossed his latest pile to the side.

"Why me- well except for the fact that I hate her with an unholy passion?"

"You are good at what you do- brilliant really," Archie said simply, "From what I can gather, she is wrapped up in probably hundreds of cases of embezzlement, not to mention tampering. She has a scratch my back-I'll scratch yours agreements with the gangs around her from the look of it. You have been one of the first detectives and officers that has stood up and taken them down. You are in her way."

"Yeah, now so is Emma," she smiled at his compliment and then turned serious again, "The killings would have stopped after Mal if I was supposedly the killer and she could blame it all on me. Then I kept digging…. She didn't like that and decided to kill more. Strange that it would pick up after the visit from the mayor and she found out that we thought Mal as a victim."

"She would probably say coincidental."

"Toss me the pile on your other side," she pointed to the papers and he handed it over. Before he let go, he tugged from her side to grab her attention. He leaned forward and looked her in the eyes. Her smile widened and she leaned forward to kiss him. When they both leaned back he let go of the papers and went directly back to his own. She liked this arrangement. He didn't push, but he sure knew how to ask. She stared at him for a moment longer, "Thank you again."

"For what?" he asked and glanced up from his papers.

"For coming to my rescue against Regina. As you may have noticed no one else did."

"No one else knew where you were on the last couple of nights. I wanted to set the records straight and get her off your back."

"You also inadvertently let the whole station house know that we are seeing each other."

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?" he chuckled playfully at her with a smirk.

Ruby paused and looked at him, her brow raised in thought. If it were any other man who had tried it and "mark" her as theirs, she would be furious. Archie did it in such a way that she could explain it away if she so chose. Again, he gave her a choice.

"No, not at all," she finally answered and she saw his breath exhale. He was holding his breath for her answer. She giggled a little to herself and shook her head at him, "You are adorable sometimes, you know that?"

"I was actually going for alpha male," he answered back.

Ruby flipped through the pages in front of her and one line popped out the loudest. She placed half of the pile to the side as she took out the one in question. She read through it and waved her hand toward Archie to get his attention.

"Cricket," she called over to him and he rolled his eyes at the name as he walked over to her side to read over her shoulder. Ruby looked over the article and began to read it out loud, "'Earlier today a local man, Daniel Stables, 27, was hit and killed by a stray bullet from a gun fight between local authorities and the Troll Gang. The direction of the bullet showed that it more than likely originated from the officers and not the gang. One rookie officer had taken the blame for the shot, but was not charged. Daniel is survived by his young fiancée, Regina Mills, who was with him when the event occurred.'"

"That would definitely be something to get revenge for. No one had paid the price for her love's death," Archie picked up the paper from Ruby and read it over as she looked at another page.

"Here's another one," Ruby said and began to read, "'Fiancée wants officer charged in accidental shooting of lover. Regina Mills is charging the city of Storybrooke and an officer of manslaughter of her fiancé, Daniel Stables, who died in a shoot out over a week prior. Storybrooke has no intention of filing any charges against the officer.' According to this date, this wasn't that long before she married her husband."

"Who was that?"

"Leonard Blanchard," she said sadly and looked at the page, "Mary's father."

"Why did she marry so quickly after the death of her fiancé?" Archie asked in confusion.

"I think I know," she pulled out the next page and showed it to him. There on the page was a picture of Regina's wedding and the line that read 'Charges dropped against officer, marriage takes place instead'. Ruby looked at the page and then at Archie, "Mary was never named in the papers and she never told me about it. She was the one that Regina blamed for the death of her fiancé. She would take the blame…"

"She never told you?"

"I am as surprised as you are," Ruby shook her head, "At that time I was training with Graham and trying to get good marks to take over one of the open positions for shadowing some of the detectives. She wouldn't want to distract me. She seemed distracted enough, but I thought that it was because of her own testing and studying."

"Then Regina married Mary's father for revenge. The evil step mother, so to say."

"Much mothering she would do," Ruby huffed and shook her head, "Mary was already out of her own by then.

"She did the next best thing," Archie said quietly, "She killed the most important man in Mary's life."

"Her father," Ruby nodded, "Mary was beyond devastated when she lost her father. He was the most important thing in her life. But there has been such a large amount of time since she killed him, why start again?"

"There has got to be a stressor," Archie noted and thought hard.

"I know…" Ruby popped her head up and turned to Archie, "Mary and David announced their engagement a week before the killings started."

"The woman who killed your fiancé now had one of her own," Archie thought out loud, "Sounds like a stressor to me."

"She was after Mary all along," Ruby said and stood up to grab her jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"She's after Mary," Ruby said and nodded her head for him to follow, "If she's scared enough to throw accusations without checking sources, don't you think she's one step away from pulling Mary's plug?"

* * *

Ruby pushed her mustang to the maximum speed as she floored it through the streets of the quiet town. Both she and Archie jumped out from the car and through the front doors of the hospital. Ruby nearly jumped to the nurse's window.

"Has Mayor Mills been in here today?" she asked quickly and out of breath.

"She just came in fifteen minutes ago," the nurse nodded and pointed to her right, "She headed toward intensive care. It looked like she knew where she was going so no one stopped her."

"Of course she knew," Ruby growled and ran from the window in the same direction.

Archie turned to the nurse who looked flustered, "See what you can do to lock down the building. We may have a killer in here, and we will not let her leave."

She nodded quietly and got out of her chair to start to alert security.

Archie pulled out his cell phone and called the dispatch center, "This is Doctor Hopper. Detective Lucas and I believe that we have tracked down the killer. She is in the Main Hospital. Intensive care."

An affirmative that reinforcements were on their way, Archie hung up his call and picked up the pace to follow Ruby. Ruby kept a good distance in front of Archie after he followed her. He lost sight of her around a corner. He heard her gasp and picked up speed, almost sliding around the corner. Ruby was over an unconscious David in the hallway. She looked up at Archie in recently relieved fear.

"He's alive," she said and pulled her hand away from his pulse point.

Archie knelt next to him and looked at the gash on his forehead, "Someone hit him pretty hard."

"One guess who," Ruby cursed and pushed herself from the floor. She ran for Mary's room, "Stay with him!"

"Ruby!" Archie yelled after her and heard David groan, "David?"

"Archie? What's going on? Where is she?" David mumbled and tried to blink his eyes.

"She who?"

"Regina, she came in and hit me…"

* * *

Ruby took her gun out of the holster and readied it as she approached the room. She quietly came through the doorway and saw Regina sitting on the side of the bed as she looked down at Mary. She ran a hand through Mary's short black hair and hummed in thought.

"She is quite beautiful, isn't she, detective?" Regina said with a smile, "All pale skin and rosy lips. She would have made a beautiful bride."

"You don't want that to happen though, do you Regina?" Ruby asked as her gun became trained on the woman.

"No," Regina gripped an item in the bed with her other hand. The large caliber handgun was settled in Mary's side as Regina sat with her, "I will make sure that it doesn't."

Ruby clicked back the hammer of her weapon and narrowed her eyes as she stepped toward Regina, "I will not let you take her completely."

"Do you know what happened? How it all came to be?" Regina asked and Ruby took it as a good opportunity of a distraction to keep her occupied and Ruby time to think on how to get Mary safe. She didn't know how well trained Regina was with a firearm, but she didn't want to take a chance.

"I know you blame her for Daniel's death," Ruby said in a steady tone and took a few more steps forward, "That she took credit for the bullet that killed him. You know that no one knows if it was or not."

"She was just going to be able to walk away," Regina whispered and then her lips curled into a snarl, "She took the most important man from my life. It was only fair that I would take hers."

"Her father."

"You were right," Regina chuckled coldly, "I did kill her father. A little teaspoon at a time."

"It was going to end there."

"Initially," Regina nodded, "She knew the pain of someone taken from her too early. My father found out. Poor daddy. Had too much nobility in him to keep him quiet. He was very sick, I just helped him along."

"What about Trisha?"

"The prostitute?" she laughed out loud at that one, "She was just at the wrong place and wrong time. I needed to get the trail far from me. I didn't even know the girl. Who better to choose than a complete stranger?"

Ruby clenched her jaw at that and made it to the foot of the bed.

"I would stop right there, detective," Regina said and pushed her finger through the trigger guard, "I am not done with my story."

"Okay, tell me about Stealthy."

"That little man got too nosey, although I have to admit, I was getting very good at what he did," Regina stared off into space, though Ruby knew that she was still aware of her surroundings, "He found something that connected me to the prostitute. I got rid of the link and then of him. That just showed me how sloppy I was becoming. It was time that I made sure that someone else would be able to take the fall. During my initial kills I dropped some evidence that could be traced later."

"To point at Mal."

"Of course, my old friend needed a little spice in her life. I made her the famous prosecutor she always wanted to be. But better, because she would be remembered as a murderer and not a mere lawyer. After I hit Blanchard in the head with my bullet, my reign of terror would have been done."

"Until we kept poking."

"For the most part," she nodded, "I killed that bum because he looked like he meant something to you. It was before I knew you were still on my trail. But when I found out, I decided to dump the body and leave you a little message."

"Yeah, I got it."

"Then last night was too good to resist," she nearly purred, "You beat me to the punch. I was going to go after Doctor Hopper. See what you would have done to lose two partners…"

At this Regina looked back at her carefully and slowly. Ruby kept her mouth in a tight line and Regina smirked.

"You had him over instead. With that mechanic coming over, it would have been a great idea to snatch the good doctor while he walked away, but I don't do well with dogs and I didn't have my gun with me."

"So you picked off Billy when he came out," Ruby answered.

"Another link to you."

"And Graham?" she chocked a little on the question.

"He walked in on me, just like you all thought," she sighed sadly, "I really didn't want to kill him. He and I were close. I was hoping that he would leave that sad excuse of a deputy and come back to my bed."

"What?" Ruby was a bit shocked.

"Didn't you know?" she turned back to Mary, "He and I had been quite an item between the sheets."

"Why did you take their hearts?"

"If I couldn't have mine, why should they?" she answered simply and pushed her gun firmer against Mary's side.

"You're telling me all of this…" Ruby said out loud and took another step toward her. She heard a few sirens and cars pull up outside the building. Re-enforcements have arrived and it wouldn't be long until Regina would run out time to take her full vengeance, "How do you think this will end?"

"I will die today," Regina nodded and turned her full attention on Ruby, "But not before I take her with me."

"You will not!" Ruby pulled her trigger, but the bullet didn't discharge. Not the time for a dud to come her way.

Regina used the distraction and jumped up to slap the gun away from Ruby and tugged her into a choke hold. She pushed her own weapon against Ruby's head and hissed into her ear.

"You know how many times I hoped that this would happen?"

"That you would go certifiably insane?"

"That you would be under my power and your life would be in my hands," she paused and pushed the muzzle of her weapon into Ruby's temple. Ruby shut her eyes against the feeling of the weapon, "I know I will die today, detective. I wonder how many I can take with me."

Both of the women's attention was drawn to the doorway as Archie stepped into the line of sight and pulled his weapon.

"Archie!" Ruby yelled toward him as Regina kept her gun against Ruby's head.

"Doctor Hopper," Regina said in a pleasant, nonchalant tone, "Surprise seeing you here and with a weapon no less."

"Let her go, Regina," he warned her and brought back his weapon's hammer, "Put the gun down and walk away. Revenge is not worth your life."

"It is worth everything!" she argued and tugged Ruby against her harder.

Archie trained his eyes on Regina, but his memories began to invade his view and he saw his father once again. It was the same thing all over again. He was the only hope and it wasn't a hostage's life this time. It was Ruby.

Ruby saw his hesitation and his far off look. His history and the monster that hid inside him was trying to claw to the surface and bring him down again. Ruby took a deep breath and looked at him in the face.

"Archie…" she said in a soft tone though she felt Regina's arm tighten around her neck.

"I can't do this, Ruby," he said as his father faded and Regina took his place once more, "I could shoot you…"

"You won't," she assured him and took a breath against her fear, "I believe in you…. and I love you, too."

"How touching," Regina pouted in jest and looked between the two of them. She pulled at Ruby and brought them both closer to Mary and turned to Archie, "I will give you a choice, Doctor Hopper. Who do you want to die first? The sleeping beauty or the woman you love?"

"I won't choose," he shook his head and looked at Ruby as he put pressure on the trigger, "I love you."

Archie pulled the trigger, but pulled the gun to the right as Regina pulled Ruby to her front where the bullet would have been. The bullet hit Regina in the shoulder and she dropped her hold on Ruby. Ruby fell over Mary in a vain attempt to shield her from any stray fire. Regina fired a few shots back at Archie and hit him in his chest and stomach.

"NO!" Ruby screamed as she saw Archie step back from the impacts.

Archie took a breath against the pain and shot two more shots toward the woman. One entered her stomach, the other, her head. The mayor stood as if stunned and fell to the floor. Archie fell against the door frame of the room and slid down. Ruby kicked Regina's gun out of reach, though the woman would not be able to get up from the bullets she took.

Ruby ran around Mary's bed and knelt down next to Archie, her hands scanning over him as if to heal him that way, "Oh God, don't do this. Not to him, please God. Not him…"

Archie's face seemed impassive and quiet, unlike the face he had when he was sleeping.

"Archie, open your eyes," she pleaded with him and held his face in her hands. She tapped her forehead against his and closed her eyes as tears spilled over, "Please, baby… I love you… please don't leave me."

Archie groaned under her touch and she blinked her eyes to clear her tears to see him properly. He looked up at her with a small smile, "You said you loved me."

"Yeah, I did," she nodded and sobbed through her words, "I meant it to."

He hissed and gritted his teeth as he held his side.

"Let me see," Ruby ripped open his shirt and was surprised to see a bullet proof vest on underneath. She ran her hands over it and felt the few places that Regina had hit, "A vest. I didn't see you put one on."

"David gave me his before I came in after you," he explained and shifted to sit up better and coughed, "Now you know how I felt when you got shot… and you're right. It hurts like a bitch."

Ruby paused, but then laughed out loud from his statement. She kissed him hard, her hands in his hair and around his neck. Her nose bumped against his in her desperate attempt to be closer to him. She giggled as she pulled way and looked at him in the eye, "That's the first time I have ever heard you curse."

"I don't plan to make a habit out of it," he shrugged and then winced from the action.

"Let's get everyone up to speed and you looked at."


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**:

Ruby tapped on the door frame and walked through, a cup of coffee in each hand- one for the man in the chair and for her own addiction. David sat on the other side of Mary's bed, the gash on his head a faint scar at his hairline. Ruby smiled and held out the coffee to him.

"With love from Granny as she closed up a little early today," Ruby smiled as he took the cup.

"How are you doing?" he asked as she sat down across from him in the other empty chair.

"Much better now that we've buried the hag," Ruby said in all truthfulness, "It's weird to think of it. Just a couple of months and the whole town seems to change."

"You two made it safer," he smiled with a nod at her, "New mayor, new system. New sense of safety that I doubt is going anywhere."

Ruby chuckled a little at that and nodded at him, "You?"

"The same."

"How is she doing?"

"She's showing improvements," he nodded and held Mary's hand in both of his, the coffee forgotten for now, "How is Archie doing?"

"He's doing fine. Getting some work done in his apartment."

David grunted in response, though his face still held a smile.

"Is there any more room for some more visitors?"

Both David and Ruby turned to the door where Emma stood with Henry. Henry held a bright bouquet of flowers in his hands. He had a small yet genuine smile on his face and set the flowers down to the side. Emma stepped to the foot of the bed and looked over the woman in it.

"I've heard a lot about her from Graham," she said sadly, "She was a good cop and detective."

"Still is," Ruby reminded her, "We just got to get her awake. Then get her back in the saddle. I need someone to watch out for my sanity. You know that Archie can only handle me on a personal level now."

Henry looked from David to Mary and tilted his head, "Are you her husband?"

"Hope to be one day, kid," David nodded.

"Why don't you kiss her awake like they do in the books?" he asked.

"Henry," Emma said in a warning tone.

"I mean it works for a lot of them, why not for you?" he asked and David seemed to think it over.

David looked at Mary and then up at Ruby. Ruby shrugged and gestured with her hands, "It couldn't hurt."

David took a deep breath, leaned over his fiancée and kissed her lips tenderly. There was a sudden lurch in the vital signs and with a large intake of breath, Mary's eyes flew open.

"Holy shit, it worked," Emma said in a whisper.

"I told you!" Henry pointed at her with a chuckle.

Mary blinked a few times and locked eyes with David, "Charming?"

"Hey Snow," he joked with her nickname and kissed her again.

Emma covered Henry's eyes and began to drag him out of the room, "We'll leave you all to it. I will check in later."

"See you at the station, boss," Ruby nodded and watched her leave.

At the sound of her voice, Mary turned to her side and saw Ruby sitting there. She laughed and sat up with a little difficulty to wrap her partner and sister in a bone crushing hug. Ruby hugged her back and almost let out a sob into her shoulder. Mary sat back and looked at her friend.

"Dear God, it's good to see you awake," Ruby smiled brightly, "I thought that I lost my favorite sister."

"I am your only sister," she teased her back.

"Even worse."

Immediately afterward Mary's stomach growled loudly and she looked at David, "Would you mind getting me something?"

"What do you want?" he asked eager to do anything that she wanted now that she was awake.

"Anything edible," she shrugged and he nodded.

He looked quickly at Ruby, "Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"

"I will be here until you get back," she nodded and he left in a rush.

"How long have I been out?" she asked with a cough.

"A little over three months," Ruby said.

"Three months…" Mary breathed out.

"She got you good."

"She?"

"Sit on back, partner. Do I have a tale for you…"

Over the next hour Ruby got comfortable and told Mary everything that had happened over the time she was out. She told her about the case and how it was solved- how she was actually the main victim in mind. They both cried over Graham's death, hugging securely to one another. She told her about the other victims in the case and how they were close to her, but so far away. She then told Mary about the new partner who turned into a new lover and how he had broken through all her walls and miraculously still stood in one piece. Then she told Mary about how she was able to love again thanks to a man she never expected.

"Wow…" Mary breathed out and looked at Ruby with a small shrug, "That's the last time I take a nap."

"At least on the job," Ruby teased her and heard David coming back up the hallway, "You had us all worried."

"Sounded like you were in good hands," Mary smiled knowingly at Ruby.

"Yeah, the best," Ruby nodded with a bashful smile and they both looked up when David came in, bogged down with bags of food. Ruby chuckled as she stood up, "Well, now I can see what took you so long. Get everything?"

"Yeah, for a small country," Mary whined from the bed, "David, this is too much!"

"You need to eat," he pointed at her and began to argue over her health.

Between their small, playful argument Ruby slipped out and went on her way home.

The walk from the hospital was nice and she really needed the fresh air. Her mustang was one of her babies, but she just needed the walk today. On the last block she walked by the apartment buildings and walked up to apartment 2B. She looked at the front of the door and read the plaque on the front.

"Archibald Hopper, Ph.D. private practice," she read out loud and knocked on the door as it was slightly ajar.

Belle came to the door and opened it the rest of the way to let her in, "Hey Ruby, how are you?"

"Just got back visiting the hospital," she shrugged and looked at the large wall book shelf that took up two walls of what used to be a living room. Belle had acquired hundreds of books for it over the last month. They ranged from children story books to novels and reference. Ruby marveled at the collection, "What's with all the books? This is a psych office, not a library."

Belle giggled with a shrug, "It's for the patients when they may get bored."

"Not to mention the office assistant behind the front desk," Ruby said knowingly.

"I'm not the one talking to people all day."

"Speaking of the devil, is the doctor in?" Ruby asked playfully.

"Back office," Belle nodded down the hall with a roll of her eyes.

Ruby hurried down the hallway and pushed her head through the door in time to see Archie finish up what looked like the last of his in-office desk. She knocked on his door and Archie popped his head up from his latest project. He stood up and opened his arms to gesture to the new office space around him, "Well, what do you think?"

"It is coming along," she nodded and walked directly to him to give him a kiss and a tight hug around his waist, "You still have to let me know how you managed to talk the manager into turning your apartment into a business."

"He thought that it was a great idea once I pointed out a few things," he shrugged and wrapped his arms around her easily, "He is going to rent out few more units for small businesses as well."

She turned herself in his arms to be front to front and looked up at him, "So… no more criminal crazies?"

"No, just the civilian ones," he joked back and kissed her on her forehead, "We heading home? I really am in the mood for some heavenly chicken tonight."

"That sounds really good," she nodded and took him by the hand to lead him out of his new office space.

He turned to Belle as he was led out, "Can you lock up for me? I am being taken away."

"Don't worry, I will close up shop, Doctor Hopper. Have a good night."

"You too, Belle," he nodded and Ruby gave her a smirk that told her that he would. He grabbed his umbrella in one hand on the way out and held out the other arm for her.

She smiled brightly and took his arm, "You know we have no choice in the menu tonight."

"Why's that?" he asked concerned.

"Granny shut the diner down early today. She wanted to cook for us tonight," Ruby said with a bounce in her step.

"You are very bouncy today," he noted.

"I have good news."

"Oh?"

"But I will tell you and Gran both at dinner," she nodded in finality.

"Whatever you say, dear," he said with a smirk.

"Glad I have you trained so well," she patted his arm and he only huffed out a laugh.

They opened the front door and Ruby stepped in to call out to her grandmother, "Granny! We're home!"

"Come on in! Dinner's being set down now."

Archie took a large sniff of the air and smiled as he shifted his eyes to Ruby, "Still having heavenly chicken."

She chuckled and heard the tell tale sign of paws coming down the hallway toward them. As she and Archie turned the corner to meet them, four fluffy bodies of puppy energy ran at their feet. Ruby immediately knelt down to greet each one and squeal at their cute attributes. They jumped around her and tried to climb up her legs as she laughed and patted each one. Pongo and Perdita walked in after their pups to greet their masters. Archie patted Pongo on the head with a 'good boy' and gently rubbed behind Perdita's ears with a 'good girl'. Ruby reached over and rubbed her nose with Perdita's as she stood up from the fluff balls around her, resembling spotted German Shepard wolves.

"Were they a handful today?" Ruby asked as she entered the main room and saw her small table already set.

"No more than yours will be," Granny chuckled and watched Ruby's face turn as red as Archie's hair.

"Gran!" Ruby yelled at her which only made the older woman laugh louder.

"Don't 'Gran' me, sit down and eat," she sat on one end on the table and unfolded a napkin over her lap.

Archie took it in stride and kissed Ruby on her temple as he sat down, leaving the middle seat for her.

Once Ruby was down he looked over at her and covered her hand with his, "You said you had some good news to share."

"Alright, impatient guy," she sighed and looked at Granny and then turned to Archie, "Mary woke up today."

"That's great!" Granny shouted through her mouthful of food, which she rarely had done before, "How is she? Does she remember everything? Is she going to be coming back?"

"She remembers everything and she is feeling good," Ruby chuckled at Granny's enthusiasm, "She hopes to come back to work as soon as she gets the clearance. David's probably force feeding her now so that she could get the strength to walk and get back into shape."

"I finally get to meet her," Archie said with a smile.

"Who knows, maybe a few double dates that don't include Gold and Belle."

"That last one was a little much," he nodded in agreement.

The rest of the dinner went by smoothly and Granny let herself out after they finished off a pie that Archie and Ruby had made earlier that week.

Toward the end of the night, Archie and Ruby took a seat on a large patio chair together in her back yard. Pongo and Perdita rolled around in the grass with their pups as the stars shone and the crickets chirped from the trees nearby. Ruby had her legs thrown over Archie's lap, her head on his shoulder and his arms encircled her, his lips against her hair as they both watched and laughed at the puppies. He took in a deep breath and hummed in contentment.

"You know," he started in a low voice against her hair, "As hard as it is to play, I really think that the game is worth playing."

She smiled as her mind thought back to that night when she first brought up the game of life, "Oh?"

"If I get you as a prize, it's the only one worth playing," he pulled back as she turned her head to look up at him.

"Even if you are a slave to it?"

"Slave to it or not. I would gladly be the Game's slave to get you in the end. If… you'll have me."

"Have you? I can't get rid of you if I tried," she kissed him with a smile.

"Isn't that the truth?" he murmured back against her lips as they both chuckled.

"I love you, Archie," she said softly against his lips.

"I love you too, Ruby," he whispered back.

Ruby hummed in approval and moved to straddle his hips, when a small whine of a bark caught their attention. Ruby and Archie looked down where one of the small pups, scratched at her leg. Ruby cooed immediately at the pup and brought it up to sit with them. It licked at her hand and then licked at Archie's glasses.

"Looks like we're playing a whole different game now," Ruby chuckled.

"No, just a new level," he added and petted the small pup as it circled against the two of them and yawned as it made a nest to sleep.

**END**


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